World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG) in San Diego Helped Beautify Balboa Park for its 100th Anniversary
2015 was the Centennial Year for San Diego’s historic Balboa Park, a popular attraction for many locals and visitors to America’s Finest City. World Mission Society Church of God members worked together to clean up and restore various parts of the park so everyone could enjoy it. Over the course of the year, the Church of God in San Diego held six different community service events within Balboa Park. They put in more than 5,000 hours of volunteer service work to make the park more beautiful. Volunteers cleared out truckloads of palm fronds from the bottom of Palm Canyon near the Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park. One park ranger said, “the Church of God is an excellent example of how great a job a group of concerned people can do for our society, and we are very grateful and thankful!” The members of the Church of God continually participate in projects like these worldwide. What gives them such passion to help so many people and communities? The answer is simple. It is to share the love of God the Mother with the whole world.
Church of God Members Helped to Restore the 100-year-old Fountain in Gold Hill Park
Golden Hill Park, located on 26th street near Pershing Drive, is one of the oldest parks in San Diego and is a part of Balboa Park. Established in 1907, the Golden Hill Fountain was very popular and drew attraction to the park. Unfortunately, over the next 100 years, it became very deteriorated due to weather conditions and vandalism. The Church of God members worked together with the City of San Diego to help restore the fountain and its surrounding area. On October 18, 2015, more than 400 Church of God volunteers worked throughout the entire Golden Hill Park. Residents driving by honked their horns in appreciation of the great work the members were performing, which encouraged them.
Church of God members Recognized with the Presidential Volunteer Service Award and Directors Award for Exemplary Service
The City of San Diego was extremely appreciative of the efforts the Church of God put into all the areas of Balboa Park. On April 9, 2016, the City of San Diego held The Annual Volunteer Recognition Event. At the event, the city presented church volunteers with the City of San Diego Director’s Award. This award had never been given to a volunteer group before. The City of San Diego decided to change this tradition to recognize the amazing work and exceptional volunteer service efforts of the Church of God. In addition to the Director’s Award, the City of San Diego also nominated the Church of God to receive the United States Presidential Volunteer Service Award. The nomination and subsequent awarding of the Presidential Volunteer Service Award was to acknowledge their hard work not only locally, but nationally.
