I am a proud Mountain T.O.P. participant, former summer staffer, board member, and social worker. No other singular experience has been as impactful on my career choice as my time working with the day camp program on summer staff.

It is difficult to describe the impact Mountain T.O.P. has had on my life and the lives of so many of our youth and adults in a short blog post, but I’m going to attempt to capture it for you.

The high school youth and their adult sponsors from East Heights United Methodist Church have been making the trek to Mountain T.O.P. every Summer since 1980.

I am not sure if words could ever adequately express what Mountain T.O.P. and the experience means to me. I remember the initial excitement about going to my first “mission” experience: AIM. However, in my first hour or two, I seriously doubted my decision…

50 years in ministry! How special it is that we got to celebrate the journey of this Holy place. This year, Mountain T.O.P. celebrates its 50th year, a special milestone that deeply connects with the ancient tradition of Jubilee, a time of restoration and renewal.

Throughout September and October, we welcomed 144 participants to Mountain T.O.P. to serve on multiple home repair projects and host the Fall Festival.

Over the course of 6 weekends, our volunteers worked a total of 1,704 hours. The Independent Sector values volunteer labor in Tennessee at $30.55 per hour. Therefore, the value of our volunteer labor this fall was $52,057.20.