The Service Committee contributes to the following programs during the year.
Volunteering at Central Missouri Food Bank (1st Tuesday of every month): Several HTCC members volunteer for one hour at the Central Missouri Food Bank. The tasks are diverse and this Shram Daan activity is performed amidst mutual conversation and camaraderie. This work is a rewarding experience for the soul.
Clean-up Columbia program (April). This is an annual event conducted by the City of Columbia. There are two teams from HTCC that participate in this activity, one around the Mandir and the other is a youth team in Ridgeway. The task in this event is to pick up any roadside trash in the city supplied bags. It is a great way to contribute to the cleanup efforts. Many of our kids attend Ridgeway School and feel good with a sense of accomplishment by cleaning the area surrounding their school and the immediate neighborhood. The same is true for the volunteers helping with cleanup around the Mandir area.
CROP Walk in Columbia (October). The CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) Hunger Walk is an annual event that combines fun and fundraising to raise awareness and funds for international relief and development, as well as local hunger-fighting. The local chapter of CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) organized the Columbia CROP Hunger Walk on the 3rd of October. 25% of the money raised by the Columbia CROP Hunger Walk is used to partially support the Loaves & Fishes Soup Kitchen and the Russell Chapel Food Pantry. The rest of the funds are used to support global hunger education and in support of refugees, disaster relief and self-help projects in more than 80 countries Registered walkers have their friends and family make donations to the cause and sponsor the walk. Our youth walkers did a splendid job in raising more than $575 for the CROP walk in 2011, the 4th year that HTCC participated in the walk.. The walk routes had a short walk option of approximately 1.4 miles and a long walk option of 2.6 miles. The walk was an enriching experience in near perfect weather conditions and helped create awareness for a very worthy cause.