Students paint the town on 5th annual Service Day
Janel Shoun |
The chilly temperatures and on-and-off rain didn’t stop more than 800 students from spending their day off from classes Friday serving their fellow man for Lipscomb’s fifth annual Service Day.
Hole digging, alphabetizing, cleaning bathrooms, ditch digging, burning CDs, sorting donations, moving pews and lots and lots and lots of painting were on the agenda for the students who were divided up into groups of 10-20 and shipped out to 56 sites all over town.
Each year Lipscomb suspends classes on Service Day to encourage the student body to participate. After a morning chapel session and a full day of work, the students are served dinner and get a T-shirt for their efforts.
Lipscomb partnered with the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools for the first time this year and sent teams to 23 Nashville public schools. At West End Middle School, youngsters leaned out their windows to say thank you to the shivering Lipscomb students painting playground equipment in the occasional drizzle.
A simple paint job may not be much, said Martina Eddy, sophomore from Murfreesboro, but “It glorifies God, and I believe Jesus cared about children. Even though painting the playground is small, I believe it makes a difference.”
"This is a great opportunity for personal growth and learning because of the element of uncertainty that exists with going into a new place,” said assistant dean of students Jeff Wilson. “Not only are we serving others, but we are growing as individuals in our confidence to be the hands and feet of Jesus even when we are unsure of where he’s leading us."
Other service sites included the Nashville Rescue Mission, the Magdalene Project’s lavender garden, Mending Hearts, Lakeshore Nursing Home, Feed America First and Grandview Church of Christ in Woodbine.The annual Service Day started 5 years ago with 50 participants. Now more than 800 participate and the day of service has become a very meaningful event for many students.
“I’m a Spanish major and hope to be traveling on some mission trips,” said senior Lindsey Jordan, who volunteered at Healing Hands International. “Lipscomb’s Service Day opens your eyes to see what kind of work these organizations in Nashville do. I’m glad to get to be a part of it.”
Along with 16 others, Jordan burned and packaged DVD’s for a mission project connected with Healing Hands International, a benevolence organization providing global aid. The group also moved furniture bound for missionaries and painted water cans to be used in a fund-raiser.
Students at the Youth Encouragement Services center on McIver Street painted the common area, dug ditches and post holes, trimmed bushes, stained picnic tables and cleaned bathrooms.
Students who went to the Williamson Animal Control Center for Service Day had a slightly different experience. They didn’t paint or clean, but each student worked with a dog to make him or her more adoptable. The students walked and bathed their dogs, held a mini-obedience training session and of course provided plenty of TLC! Students also evaluated the dog’s reactions to help potential adopters learn about their personalities.
“It touched my heart to see how we can help animals that don’t have anywhere to go to find a good home”, said Emily Byrum, a volunteer at the Williamson Animal Control Center. “I bonded a lot with the dog that I had for the day and I could tell all he really needed was a good home.”