We never know what connections in our small world will lead to big blessings — but God does.

In the past, a volunteer at Midwest Mission had taken redirect supplies to the Mt. Olive Care Center in Mt. Olive, Illinois. This happens quite often when we get donations that don't fit in our kits, but can be redirected to another organization. That small connection led to a big donation.

In early September, Dometic, an outdoor equipment company that specializes in vanlife, RVing, car camping, and overlanding supplies, reached out to Midwest Mission about a corporate donation.

Dometic's product manager, Jordan Kettler, explained that Dometic had white coolers in inventory that they could no longer sell on the open market because some of them were beginning to discolor. Aesthetically, there were issues, but they were fully functional.

Kettler had received our name from Nancy Hubert from the Mt. Olive Care Center who had already received a small donation of coolers. He wanted to know if we would also be interested in receiving a donation .

"We are taking the opportunity to work with local non-profit organizations on donating our inventory to those who could use them," Kettler said.

Otherwise, the damaged coolers would wind up in a landfill.

We jumped at the opportunity to partner with Dometic. These coolers would be a huge blessing to someone who has lost power in a disaster. It could hold perishable food items or vital medicines that must be kept cool.

Being able to offer these coolers in the midst of a disaster has the potential to bring a bit of relief and stability to their crisis.

After communicating back and forth, it was decided we would take 400 coolers — an entire semi-load!

On Thursday, September 14, we traveled to Dometic's warehouse in Litchfield, IL to pick up the 260 small and 140 medium coolers.

The value of this donation was $77,600!

Thank you, Dometic, for this generous donation. And, thank you, Mt. Olive Care Center, for directing them to us.

We never know what connections will bring the next big blessing.

It was a busy week here at Midwest Mission! We picked up the Dometic donation, prepared for the Rice Meal Pack coming up on Midwest Mission Sunday, and we sent two international shipments in two days. Whew!

On Wednesday, September 13, we sent a shipment to Guatemala. This was the 33rd international shipment of the year, and included:

• 50 Layette Kits
• 535 tarps
• 113 little boy outfits
• 381 Cover Them With Love Quilts
• 60 hospital mattresses
• 47 electric sewing machines
• 6 treadle sewing machines
• 16 bikes
• 50 canes
• 22 walkers
• 6 wheelchairs
• and other medical supplies



Weight: 13,702 lbs

Value: $149,767.50

On Thursday, September 14, we shipped an Angels of Hope container to Haiti, to serve children's homes and orphanages around the country.

This was the 34th international shipment of the year, and included:

• 432 Home Care Kits
• 1,960 Personal Dignity Kits
• 329 cases of disinfectant wipes

Weight: 18,475 lbs

Value: $50,900.00

Midwest Mission Serving Sunday

Church Bulletin Insert

We now offer monthly church bulletin inserts that you can slide in your church's bulletin. These inserts keep your congregation up-to-date on our current needs and upcoming events!

Midwest Mission Weekly Projects

Work of the Mission Volunteers

Work Done

• 198 Bed Packs
• 30 Layette Kits
• 137 Personal Dignity Kits
• Refurbish bikes
• Build desks
• Refurbish sewing machines
• Sewing
• Tape shampoo
• Rice Meal Pack prep
• Check outfits
• Count items into inventory
• Bag mask

Off-Site Rice Meals

• 1,228 Flora First UMC, Flora, IL
• 600 Foundry Circuit, DeWitt, IA
• 1,040 Cloverleaf Collaborative, Seville, OH
• 1,800 Otterbein UMC, Navarre, OH
• 3,160 Knoxville UMC, Knoxville, IL

Midwest Mission is able to do this work because of your generous donations and willingness to volunteer. Thank you!



Ready to Get Involved?

Volunteer at Midwest Mission

Dates are available in 2023, 2024, and 2025

Need a Saturday option for team volunteering

or assistance in booking? Contact Pat Wright at pat@midwestmission.org or 217-697-4063

Click below to check calendar openings and to reserve your spots.

Volunteer Reservation Calendar



2025 Volunteer Calendar is now open for dorm reservations!

Go to our Reservation Calendar, log in, reserve your rooms, and submit payment for your Non-refundable Reservation Fee via credit card or electronic check. We will email you the Access Code to reserve Volunteer Shifts for your team. You must complete this step for your team to volunteer at Midwest Mission.

For local teams and individuals: Volunteer Shifts will only be available 3 months ahead of time. Beginning October 1, 2023 you will be able to reserve Volunteer Shifts for January of 2024.

Thank you for your patience as we try to improve the reservation experience for both local teams and those staying in the dorm.

Chuck and Karen Porter

Brighton, IL

Stan and Debbie Stadel

Yorkville, IL

First UMC

Columbus, NE

Lighthouse

Rochester, IL

Christ Lutheran Church

Bagley UMC

Waterloo Kimball UMC

Lakes UMC