Stories

Starlight, Now Bright!

After years of neglect, not only did 3,876 seats at the historic Starlight Musical Theatre get renewed last week. So also did an older gentleman named Don. He came by to ask what the hundreds of Do Something World volunteers were doing, and ended up committing his life to Jesus Christ.

"I was in the right place at the right time," said Naomi Becker, a Do Something World Volunteer who talked with Don.

On Tuesday night, Naomi was one of the 1,166 volunteers at the Starlight Bowl in Balboa Park who showed up during a coordinated week long effort to give a much needed facelift to one of the community's aging landmarks.  The Rock had started refurbishing the 64-year-old San Diego amphitheater during a major Do Something World Clean-Up event the month before. Now they was finishing the job.

Such community service events take hours of planning, piles of supplies, and hundreds of volunteers. Amidst all that, it's easy to forget the ultimate motivation: communicating God's love to a broken world.

Naomi didn't forget. Naomi's encounter with Don occurred against a week-long backdrop of service that involved both new and seasoned volunteers and even included some local celebrities like Chargers defensive end Jacques Cesaire and wide receiver Gary Banks.

It was a monumental effort that contributed over 5,299 DO Something World hours to the community in one week, according to Debbie Smith, Rock Church Volunteer Development Manager.  In all, 1,166 volunteers cleaned the theatre, stage and back deck, painted the dressing rooms, restrooms and hallways, installed and painted 3,876 seats, and hauled away over 45,000 pounds of junk.