Service Day draws in a number of students every year; some students hope to earn three chapel credits, while others simply want to help and explore the community.
“It’s just a really cool way to get to know the Nashville community and go out and serve in a place that I’ve never been before,” junior Diana Proffitt said.
Students signed up to serve at various locations such as the Nashville Public Library and the Churches of Christ Disaster Relief.
The Churches of Christ is a non-profit organization that works to provide food, water and supplies to those in need following a disaster.
“I saw a family, I don’t know how long they hadn’t eaten, hadn’t drunk fresh water, but I do know they took it right off the truck, they walked right over to their tailgate of their truck, opened it up, and a man fed his family,” operations director Ralph Coles said.
Student volunteers took a tour of the main warehouse to learn more about how the organization was serving others.
“I really like this facility. I think it’s great to be at a place that has a faith-based aspect to it,” junior Becky Sale said. “You know, to hear about the Churches of Christ and how they’re helping out communities all across the nation.”
On any given day, more than 200 volunteers will come to the warehouse to pack food boxes for those in need. About 27,000 food boxes are shipped out yearly.
On Service Day, Lipscomb students packed wash cloths into boxes.
“We don’t think much about a bar of soap and a wash cloth, but when you’ve lost everything and you’re dirty and feeling bad already, to wash your face with clean cloth and some soap means a lot,” Coles said.
Coles shared his own story of how disaster affected his life when his home was struck by a tornado.
“I had been asleep one night, and I knew there were storms in the area,” Coles said. “I had my cell phone laying on my night stand by chance. It went off. It woke me up and that time, the high winds tore about a third of the roof off of my house.”
The Churches of Christ Disaster Relief reaches 48 states where tragedy has hit, meeting immediate needs. During a “good year,” Coles said the organization receives about $3 million in donations, and 80 to 85 percent of goes directly into buying supplies.
For more information, visit http://disasterreliefeffort.org.
Additional reporting by D’Nashia Jenkins