Mobile
Home Day Camp
 Mobile
Home Day Camp was started by our church in 2000. The day
camp is held Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for three
consecutive weeks in July. 50 children attended 2002's
day camp with an average of 20 children per day. The children
range in age from preschool to sixth grade. Most of the
children who attended were Hispanic. Many of the children
qualify for a free hot lunch meal during the school months
and a hot lunch is served each day of the day camp.  Each
day, the activities include music, games, and hands-on-learning
opportunities. 27 Lakeside members served in this community
mission project in 2002.
Food for
Life
The Food for Life program
was started in 1983 by Lakeside Presbyterian Church and
is a project to help address local hunger. As of 2003,
about 135,000 pounds—or 67 tons—of processed
meat has been distributed to over 31,000 people—or
10,000 family units. The animals from area farmers are
received every Wednesday morning. The animals are unproductive
or injured animals donated to Food for Life by area farmers.
The animals are transported in a livestock trailer from
Storm Lake to a butcher shop in Paullina, Iowa, where
they are processed. The processed meat is then taken to
the Upper Des Moines Opportunity office food pantry in
Storm Lake and distributed to Buena Vista County residents
who qualify under the poverty guidelines. Several men
in the congregation and community provide pickup trucks
to pull the trailer and to assist in transporting the
animals and the processed meat.
Church Facilities
There are several community
organizations who use our church facilities throughout
the year. They include the Quilt Sew-ciety, Tops Club,
Porcelain Artists, Camera Club, and Low Impact Aerobics.
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Southeast
Asian Community
Lakeside has been actively
involved with the Southeast Asian community in Storm Lake
since 1975, when we sponsored the first Laotian family
to help resettle them from the refugee camps. The Southeast
Asian community has grown to be about 1,000 in population
in our area. Several of them have been very active in
our church, including Barry Thongvanh, who has become
a Presbyterian commissioned lay pastor. He now serves
as the pastor of the Southeast Asian Christian Ministry,
which is in the process of becoming a new church development
for the Presbyterian Church (USA). As part of the Southeast
Asian ministry, we host an annual Christmas party that
includes great food, fun, and fellowship.
CROP Walk
Lakeside Presbyterian
Church organized the first Storm Lake CROP Walk for Hunger
in 1981. Annually, there is an average of 75 walkers who
raise approximately $3,000 for hunger. 25% is given to
the Food for Life program.
Habitat
for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity is greatly supported by the leadership from our church
in addition to financial support and many, many volunteers
who give their time to build the houses. The ninth Habitat
for Humanity house in the Storm Lake area is now in the process
of being constructed.
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