Area professionals volunteer to help hundreds in need
Eau Claire (WQOW) - Local professionals volunteer their time and talents, helping hundreds of people in need.
"I think that people are looking for a way to care about others," says Andrea Polnaszek of the Touched Twice Clinic organization. "And it makes a lot of sense to not even have to go out of your comfort zone but to just use the very skills that you use every week and just be able to give back."
Area hair stylists, mechanics, doctors and others offered their services for free at Bethesda Lutheran in Eau Claire Saturday. Nearly 400 people turned out to get an oil change, see an eye doctor, get a family portrait and more. This kind of event is held at churches across the country.
"Our goal is to try to show the love of Jesus to as many people as we possibly can," says volunteer physician Dr. Andrew Floren. "And there's a group of people--people who are not as advantaged as we are that have a lot of needs and so we want to open the church and bring everyone together so that we can try to meet the people's needs and, maybe in a little bit of a way, bring heaven here to earth."
Organizers say the event was such a success, they plan to repeat it next spring.