Within a 10-mile radius in Middlesex, there is no playground
and no secure place that children can gather outdoors for play.
Seeking to meet this need for their town, Rocky
Cross Baptist Church
is in the race to win a 25,000 dollar grant from Pepsi.
The Pepsi Refresh Project is giving millions away to
projects that will “refresh our world.”
People must simply vote for the project that they want to
win. The top 15 projects in the 25,000 grant category will all receive a full
grant.
If voting continues to go well for Rocky Cross Baptist, they
will soon have a new playground and security fence for the entire community.
“God can really work if you have faith,” Melissa Fields said
as she praised Him for how He’s working in her community.
“Something that was just a dream is becoming a reality.
“We have people that have never really been involved at
church (before), but they’re working at this and getting excited about it.”
Some people from the community even go dumpster diving to
find more Pepsi bottle caps. The caps have a code inside that voters can use to
“power vote.”
A power vote is worth multiple votes. However, anyone can vote
for free with or without a Pepsi bottle.
Fields confirmed, “It has grown us as a church and
community.” And it really is a community-wide effort to raise the support for a
community playground. The local gas stations and restaurants have even gotten
involved by saving bottle caps to give to the effort.
“It’s such a blessing to see everyone coming together and
unite,” she said.
Not only has the Pepsi Refresh project built unity within
the Rocky Cross Baptist community and their entire town, but it has helped many
people to visit the church for the first time.
Voting for the grant ends July 31. Visit
refresheverything.com/rockycrossplayground to see their video and vote.
As this is an ongoing project for Pepsi, there are still
many chances to submit your own idea for a project grant.
There is a new contest each month through December. The last
submissions will be accepted Nov. 1-5. Visit refresheverything.com for more
information on how to enter. Grants are offered for $5-, $10-, $25- and
$50-thousand dollars.
To celebrate and thank the community, Rocky Cross Baptist
plans to throw a fall festival after the construction. Whether they win or
lose, the church still plans on going forward with the project, albeit on a
smaller scale. They also want it to be handicap accessible, which is an extra
expense.
Project submissions for a grant are selected by Pepsi to be
in the contest.
Then, people vote on the different projects, and voting
lasts for the month.