Gallery • 3 Photos

Photo by Photo used with permission of Maddy Piggott

The Piggott family stands for a picture in front of the view. This summer the family spent their time in Detroit while on a mission trip to volunteer.

While some people’s summer was spent working on their tan, this family’s summer was spent working in Detroit on a mission trip.

Stephanie Piggott, special education teacher, went on a mission trip to volunteer at CASS Community Social Services which is dedicated to providing food, housing, health services, and job programs for the homeless and special needs adults, she said. Each summer the Senior High Youth Group at Piggott’s church, Kingswood United Methodist in Buffalo Grove, volunteers on a mission trip for a week. This was the first year Piggott was able to go with three of her children.

“The mission trip was awesome. I was able to learn about Detroit. I have heard about the struggles the city has suffered through, but to see it in person and hear from the people living there was really moving,” Piggott said. “We were able to help out the community in so many diverse settings. Plus, it was great to work alongside so many youth, especially my three teenagers, who chose to take a week out of their summer to help others.”

Through the week the family took out to help the community, Piggott’s kids were able to form a new perspective about life, Maddy Piggott, senior, said.

“Being from Lake Zurich, I didn’t realize how privileged we were here,” Maddy said. “There are some things that I thought more people had that some didn’t have in Detroit. There is a very large homeless population there which I didn’t realize. A lot of them would get supplies from the homeless shelter, like basic things you would think they would have. [I realized] how lucky we

are and how we can always just give back to people.”

Through the trip, the Piggott family gave back to people in many different ways like building places where others could live. 

“We made daily meals to serve the homeless, cleaned and painted a floor to be used by homeless mean starting in September, pulled weeds and cut lawns in the areas around CASS, scavenged for abandoned tires around the city to be used to make mud mats, and spent a morning with special needs adults playing games and interacting with them,” Piggott said. “We slept on the floor of a community center each night and shared two showers for 32 people. That was hard.”

This mission trip was the opportunity for the Piggott family to reach out and help others, while also being a way to bring their family closer together, Piggott said.

“It was such a memorable experience. Seeing each of [my kids] make connections with the community and help those in need really touched my heart,” Piggott said. I” think seeing my kids out of their element and watching them be excited to learn new things while being out of their comfort zone really impressed me. I am definitely looking for more opportunities for us to volunteer as a family again. giving back is something I feel strongly about. I am planning on going on another mission trip Guatemala with my teenagers next summer.”

While the Piggott family are already planning their next trip, Maddy believes that very one should try to reach out and volunteer on a mission trip.

“I would definitely recommend [a mission trip]. You learn a lot and it just gives you a whole different perspective on things,” Maddy said. “If anyone ever has the chance to do one I think they should definitely go on it.”