By JOEL PHELPS | The Arkadelphian
For 19 years and counting, a local volunteer organization has been helping the community one project at a time.
Volunteers with Arms Around Arkadelphia devote one week each summer to rolling up their sleeves and taking care of business. With projects ranging from simple faucet repairs to more complex builds like handicap ramps, David McAllister and a band of volunteers make the most of a four-day window as they work in communities in Arkadelphia and surrounding areas.
“Serving our fellow man, that’s why we do it.”
In 2023, Arms Around Arkadelphia took on 16 projects, a number that’s about average for the 80 or so volunteers who put in the hours each year. Among the projects this year included servicing a massive pine tree and replacing a living room floor, in communities stretching from Dalark to Gurdon to Hearn.
(Check out the slideshow gallery below: click or tap the arrows on either side of the slideshow to view each picture.)
“We’re a Christian organization, and we just believe that’s what we ought to be doing as Christian servants,” McAllister said. “Serving our fellow man, that’s why we do it.”
Spearheaded by First Baptist Church with volunteers from churches throughout the community (some this year were from as far away as Hot Springs Village), Arms Around Arkadelphia’s projects are funded mostly from donations, though the organization has been the recipient of some grants. While a bulk of the volunteers busy themselves with carpentry or home repair, there is a support base from many others who run deliveries or prepare dinner after a hard day’s work.
Some of the volunteers make regular “guest appearances” each year, McAllister said. “We had a group of young attorneys come and help us for a day,” he said, naming Taylor Chaney and some of his colleagues. “We also get good support from the city in terms of trash pick-up because of the debris from the projects.”
To date, Arms Around Arkadelphia has completed an estimated 300 projects since it formed in 2004.
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