Orange & Blue

Issue date: 10/9/09 Section: News

Over six hundred students, faculty,and staff came together to assistthe surrounding community on October 3 for the Operation InAs-Much service project. The volunteers met in the three gym area at 9 a.m. where they were given their assignments for the day. From reading to children to planting flowers, from cleaning up schools to volunteering with Habitat for Humantity, students reached out to a wide spectrum of local areas of need.











Many campus organizations including honor societies like Alpha Chi, athletic teams, ministry groups such as 757, academic classes, and residence halls formed groups for the five hour service frenzy.

Matthew 25:40 serves as the inspiration for the project across the nation. "For inasmuch as you have done it for the least of these my brothers, you have done unto to Me," the verse reads.

Several other churches, schools, and communities participate in an InAsMuch program thoughtout the year.

The program was founded in 1995 by Snyder Memorial Baptist Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Carson-Newman was the first to participate in the program in Tennessee.

The participants and those they helped were touched by the annual project.

Members of Alpha Chi, a general academic honor society, devoted the morning hours of Operation Inasmuch to children's literacy and the children's ministry at First United Methodist Church in Morristown.

Approximately thirty honors students from numerous majors and disciplines participated in the event.

One student played the role of the well-loved Clifford the Big Red Dog, while other students helped prepare crafts and read storybooks to children, in addition to helping them trade books and keeping watch over the inflatables. Still others helped clean or passed out flyers for upcoming church events in nearby neighborhoods.

"It's just really a fun time and a chance for them to get exposed to reading and changing books and trading them out and just to realize how much fun it can be to read," Miriam Addison, a senior English and secondary education major, said.

"I love to see the smile on kids' faces when they read. They understand a story and they want to read and they want you to read it," Addison said. "It's just really neat with kids. They're just so excited about having fun and learning new things. To see things through a child's eyes is a really great experience."

Dr. Karen Borchert, the director of children's ministries at First United Methodist, felt that the event was also a great opportunity for the community to gain a positive experience.

"It helped to expose the church to the community so that people who maybe have never been to church could come and experience church in a very positive way. It also exposes children both inside and outside of the church to Christian college students," she added. "It shows them how great [Carson- Newman students] are."

Borchert noted that a number of adults who helped with the event told her that the hard work and behavior of the C-N students impressed them.

"I just want to express my appreciation to the college students for their great attitudes and hard work and for really putting their servant hearts to work," Borchert said.

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