CONEJO VALLEY, Calif. -- About 1,000 members of Calvary Community in Westlake Village prepared to help individuals, service agencies and schools with projects on June 1.

According to the Los Angeles Times, this is the church's first-ever "Beyond the Walls, Intentional Acts of Service" program. Church members fanned out across Ventura County and provided free labor and assistance to those in need. Some 80 projects were addressed in several nearby communities.

"Having churches, temples or any group willing to do work for the benefit of the entire community is wonderful," said Jim Friedl, deputy city manager of Thousand Oaks, home of several charities that benefited from the day of service. "That's one reason the Conejo Valley is such a wonderful place to live, because our residents have such a strong sense of ownership and volunteerism."

Calvary spokeswoman Denise Davis said the church wants to make this an annual event. She said one-third of the 3,000 people who regularly attend Calvary signed up to assist groups, including local YMCAs, Easter Seals, the Area Housing Authority and Moorpark and Newbury Park high schools.

"It's likely more people will show up" to help out today, Davis said. "We wanted to show how we could get beyond the walls of our church and really reach out to the community that supports us."

Volunteer teams were set to start early working on a home construction project for Habitat for Humanity, doing landscaping at a mobile home park for the elderly, clearing a camp trail at a YMCA, and helping out at a permanent facility for homeless men. About 40 middle- and high-school students and 10 adults were set to clean the Rescue Mission and serve pizza to an estimated 300 guests.

"We serve more than 900 meals a day out of this soup kitchen, and all our food is donated," said Gary Beaman, the mission's volunteer coordinator. "We really depend on the help of others, like Calvary."