Help Support the Volga U 5K

In case you haven't seen it on Facebook, we are organizing a 5K road race in Volga, IA. The idea came from seeing a few churches pull together to host an all-day series of fundraising events in Elkader (10 miles from Volga) including a 5K. This is a fundraiser our church is helping with. The funds are to support a church and Christian school plant in Guatemala (you can read more about that here: https://www.facebook.com/guattrot/?fref=ts). Since I enjoy running (even if I haven't always been consistent with it), the idea began to grow more and more strongly in my mind that we, too, could organize a 5K here in Volga - helping to bring people into our little town and at the same time raising some much-needed funds for Volga U.

Why a 5K?
We'll be doing a 5K run/walk and a kids' one-mile fun run to help support repairs and renovations to the old school gym, "Volga U". The school in Volga was built in 1923 and the gym was added in 1952. The school shut it doors in the spring of 2004 and consolidated with the school in Elkader (10 miles away). After that, the school property was given over to the city and the city in turn put it up for sale. A local family bought it, and when they moved to another area they gifted it to our church. The church saw that the gym would be an optimal property for ministry, and so decided to sell the school building in order to fund the re-roofing of the gym. The roof needed work badly and our small church simply didn't have the means to take care of it otherwise.

If you've followed our blog for any amount of time, you've probably seen us post pictures or describe some events that have taken place in this gym. If you asked folks from neighboring communities, however, chances are that many of them may not be aware that anything has been going on here. We think that a 5K would be a great opportunity to give Volga U some publicity. It has held events such as basketball camps, volleyball tournaments, family meals, and an adult prom fundraiser for the Volga City Truck Cruise. It also continues to host:

• an after-school kids' Bible club during part of the school year
• adult volleyball during the winter
• a place for indoor walking during the winter
• basketball for high school and college students on Sunday nights
• special church services throughout the year

Volga U allows free reservations for community use (under certain guidelines). There's a reason that we want to minister to our community for free and in any way we can. We believe that God has determined the times and places where every person lives upon the earth (Acts 17:26) and for us that means that we want to embrace where God has placed us - Volga City. We want to be committed to demonstrating the love of God in Christ towards our community. This requires that we consider investing in its future, and in doing so we have the opportunity to answer people who say, "Why do you care?". It is because we care about their ultimate future. 

Would You Help Us?

We are asking if you would consider helping us spread the word about what God is doing through Volga U. Help us to minister to our community. You could sign up for the 5K run/walk or you could even purchase a t-shirt to support the cause. Some may want to find out how they can sponsor the race (go here for more info: http://volgau5k.weebly.com/sponsorships.html). Finally, please pray for us and this 5K event. Ask that God would give us a fair amount of runners so that this might become an annual event for our town. It's such a helpful way to make contact with people and other communities and to invite them to be a part of what we're doing here. 

For more information see our website and Facebook page:

• www.VolgaU5K.com
• https://www.facebook.com/events/511609669022285/

To register for the Volga U 5K, go to: https://www.raceentry.com/races/volga-u-5k/2016/register
Or to buy a race t-shirt, go to: https://www.raceentry.com/races/volga-u-5k/2016/shopping

Thank you for loving Volga City and for supporting ministry at Volga U!