Student initiative seeks to serve
Service — A Liberty student works on a mosaic near Amazement Square in downtown Lynchburg. Photo provided
Liberty University is now providing opportunities for students to show their care for the Lynchburg community through regular short term service projects.
Since Sept. 6, 2012, Liberty students have been reaching out to the Lynchburg community through the Community Care Initiative (CCI). Will Honeycutt is the program’s faculty coordinator.
“You can serve without caring, but you can’t care without serving,” Honeycutt said. “If you care, you get down and help people.”
Throughout the first few months of CCI’s existence, students have displayed genuine care for the community. Care teams have assisted the elderly, cleaned up local parks, finished a mosaic in Amazement Square and performed many acts of service in the community.
According to the Liberty University News Service, in less than a semester, volunteers in the program have worked together to complete more than 1,450 “hours of care.”
Troy Cosner, a care team leader, has enjoyed caring for the community with CCI.
“I just think that it is great that we as Christians can show the love of Christ in practical ways, showing the world that we do care about them and that we aren’t just all talk,” Cosner said.
CCI care projects are typically completed Saturdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Requests are received from the community, and projects are assigned to care team leaders who largely come from the Office of Student Leadership, according to the Liberty University News Service.
Honeycutt said CCI endeavors to recruit volunteers who care about the community because they love the Lord and love their neighbor and are not worried about credit.
According to Honeycutt, the program also strives to “leave a mark,” while caring for the community.
The CCI Facebook page says that volunteering in CCI gives students the opportunity to have an influence on the surrounding community through physical projects.
Brittannie Hedrick, a care team leader, recently had an impact on the community by caring for local home owners.
“The first thing that we did when we got to the work site was to pray over the day and the work that we would be doing, a good reminder and literal application of Psalm 127:1, ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.’ Throughout the day, we installed insulation throughout the house and built the frame for a back deck and handicap ramp. The homeowners were so excited and grateful that we were there to help them. Lord willing, they will be able to move into their house in February.”
Honeycutt said that care team members have grown closer as they have completed “dirty projects” like painting.
David Pearce bonded with his teammates as he worked with four students to paint a room for the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center.
“It was a lot of fun, and just a great practical way to show a practical Christ and show that Liberty truly cares for the community,” Pearce said. “I got to know the people I was with a lot better as well. It was a good way to start a Saturday.”
Students wishing to become involved in CCI can ask their spiritual life director or prayer leader for more information or email the CCI office at cci@liberty.edu. The CCI is not limited to students though. Any staff or faculty that would like to become involved or know of needs in the community should contact CCI.