As the smell of Sherry’s donuts wafted through the brisk
air, the fifth annual Inasmuch Day was about to begin.
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| Inasmuch volunteers gather on Academic Circle. Photo by Sara Acosta |
“But Inasmuch Day is not about us,” said Campus Minister
Faithe Beam as she offered encouragement and motivation with opening remarks to
the crowd of volunteers. “It’s about loving our neighbors and meeting their
needs. Today is about giving ourselves to the community.”
Campus Ministry’s Terry Tucker, ministry associate and
coordinator for serving and sending ministries, echoed that the goal for this
year’s Inasmuch Day was two-fold, to expand impact and to communicate the
importance of putting others first.
“We wanted to increase our project base as well as see a
broader volunteer base regarding the number of faculty/staff versus
students. We saw this happen this year as we added five new projects and
approximately 60 faculty/staff participate over the 25 from 2011,” she said.
“My hope was also that our volunteers would see the
significance in serving others as Jesus calls us to in Matthew 25:40. To
whatever area of service we are drawn, it involves the lives of others.”
Tucker added that the five new projects were Appleworks
School, the Harnett Food Pantry, S.A.F.E. of Harnett County, Triton High School, and Kicking4Hunger.
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| Campbell students at Cape Fear Christian Academy. Photo by Billy Peterson |
While pictures tell a thousand words, the numbers for
Inasmuch tell a story of their own. One of only two universities in the country
participating as a campus body, Campbell’s Inasmuch Day engaged 450 volunteers
in 30 projects that served approximately 23 thousand people. The day’s work and
projects are valued at $10 thousand.
Campbell further expanded Inasmuch Day by incorporating it
into Accepted Students Day, giving high school seniors seriously considering
Campbell a glimpse into life as a student. The approximately 200 accepted
students volunteered with Kids on the Run and Backpack Buddies, and made children’s
busy bags for hospital emergency rooms, hygiene kits for Beacon Rescue Mission,
and treat bags for Facilities Management.
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| Arc of Harnett County Photo by Billy Peterson |
An event of such magnitude doesn’t just happen. In January
Tucker convened a team of 14 faculty, staff, and students to organize the day.
“The logistics include working with community partners to
secure projects, enlisting projects leaders, online registration, assigning 450
volunteers to 30 projects, project leader training, media, service day check-in
procedures to insure all teams are equipped to move out into the community, and
much more."
"This was also our second year of working alongside Admissions to include the accepted students” she added.
"This was also our second year of working alongside Admissions to include the accepted students” she added.
Beam echoed that the day also wouldn’t be possible without stellar
volunteers.
“I am so proud of our students, faculty, and staff who
volunteer to wake up early on Saturday to share their time and resources with
the community,” she said. “Days like this make me especially proud of
Campbell.”
Junior biology pre-professional student Erica Hammond is one
of those volunteers, one of many to host Arc of Harnett County’s developmentally
disabled children and their families at the Irwin Belk Track for an afternoon
of inflatables and snow cones.
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| Project Leader Melissa Psaltis Photo by Courtney McGowan |
“I chose the Arc project because it’s a great way to give
back to the community and to interact with special needs kids to help them feel
accepted and special,” she said. “They are just such optimistic kids and a joy
to be around.”
Arc project leader Melissa Psaltis, a student in School of
Counseling, said that the fun and games go beyond entertaining the kids.
“It means as much to the parents as it does to the kids. Seeing
their kids smiling and happy means a lot to them,” she said. “And we wouldn’t
be able to do this without all the volunteers.”
While the volunteers sign up with a motivation to bring joy
to others, project leader at Beacon Rescue Mission and physician assistant
student Jessica Robbins found that what goes around comes around on Inasmuch
Day.
“When we went to pay for lunch after finishing the project,
our waitress came up and told us that ‘good deeds do not go unnoticed’ and that
a couple had seen our shirts and paid for our group’s lunch and left before we
could thank them or see who they were. It is so touching to know that
people recognize what we are doing and appreciate it,” she said.
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| Arc of Harnett County Photo by Courtney McGowan |
“It was so rewarding to put on this Kicking4Hunger camp in
conjunction with Inasmuch. We ended up raising 127 pounds of food. Gabe Whaley,
founder of Kicking4Hunger, mentioned that the food we raised was enough to feed
five families of four for an entire week—it was more than we could have ever
asked for,” said Barker.
Campus Ministry Graduate Assistant and divinity student
Tyler Ward summed up the Inasmuch experience.
“Inasmuch allows us the chance to serve with the greater
community. It’s a great opportunity for the campus community and our neighbors
to serve together,” he said.
By Sara Acosta, AmeriCorps VISTA with reporting by student Courtney
McGowan
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Click here to view the complete photo album on Facebook.
For more information on Inasmuch at Campbell, e-mail Terry Tucker.
