The Red Bus that visits Lipscomb’s Bison Square and many other university campuses across the states is not just a bus filled with clothes but a project that gives students the opportunity to help care for orphans.
The Red Bus Project is a branch of the organization Show Hope, a movement to care for orphans primarily through adoption aid.
The mission of Show Hope revolves around engaging the church to care for orphans and reducing adoption barriers, as there currently more than 140 million orphans in the world.
Chris Wheeler, Director of Student Initiatives at Red Bus Project, said the project originally began as an opportunity to get high school and college students involved.
“College students today are a part of the loudest generation simply because of their phones,” Wheeler said. “Because of their expertise with social media they can connect to thousands of people with their phones.”
Founded by Christian recording artists Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, Show Hope aims to get the millennials involved by becoming orphan defenders.
“One of the key ways we help college students know of the Red Bus Project is by awareness,” Wheeler said. “It is important for them to know that there are children in the world that have been abandoned.”
The Red Bus Project offers two ways for Lipscomb students to get involved: visit its website or visit the Franklin office nearby The Factory. Wheeler said that getting involved is just the beginning of making an impact on the world.
“We want college students to leverage that influence and give voices to children around the world.”