Last fall, Charleston Southern students teamed up with First Baptist Church, Ravenel, and Charleston Baptist Association to reach out to a mobile home community located in Ravenel. It was a fun-filled day as the neighborhood children enjoyed playing their favorite games while having their bicycles repaired.
Charleston Southern students labor together to complete the porch on the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Jedburg.Earlier this year, the groups returned to renew those relationships and to replace the community’s worn-out basketball goal. Campus ministries and First Baptist Church donated funds, and the basketball goal was completed Feb. 23 by members of Summit Church and CSU football players.
Corey Humphries, director of Catalyst, a CSU service project initiative, noted the students’ selfless attitude as they shared themselves, their time and their lunches. “They served their socks off,” said Humphries.
While the basketball goal was being raised in Ravenel, more than 100 representatives from CSU sports teams, clubs, sororities and the Student Government Association volunteered at Countdown to Kindergarten at Stall High School in Charleston.
The event, a collaborative effort of several Lowcountry agencies, provided dental, vision and hearing screenings, and a chance for the children and parents to meet local kindergarten teachers. In addition, a fire department spokesperson addressed fire safety, and fingerprint kits were available through the police department representative. Riding on a school bus and climbing on a fire truck were the highlights of the morning for the more than 260 children entering kindergarten this year.
In addition to giving direction, guidance and support to participants, the CSU students also engaged the children in games and activities, clapping and cheering them on.
“The whole thing was just fun,” said freshman volleyball player Cori Holmen. “The kids really looked up to us, and we felt like we were giving back to the community.”
Another Catalyst project in February found 17 students laboring on a Habitat for Humanity site in Jedburg. Their goal: to complete the porch on a 23,000-square-foot ReStore facility.
Adriana Fiscella, a freshman pre-dental major from Virginia, worked on the project.
CSU students and rising kindergarteners enjoy playing games together at Countdown to Kindergarten. “My parents instilled in me seeing the good in volunteering,” said Fiscella. “I feel I am making a difference when I volunteer.”
When completed, the building will serve as a collection site for donated items, the sale of which will provide money for Habitat home building supplies.
In March, students worked with Water Missions International (WMI), a nonprofit Christian engineering organization serving the water and sanitation needs of people in developing countries and disaster areas, as well as sharing the message of Christ. WMI has more than 500 water systems in 32 countries providing safe water every day to more than 1 million people.
Enthusiastic students assembled water systems and then packaged them for shipment. According to Daniel Williams, a junior religion major, the systems were sent to Honduras where they will be maintained by local missionaries.
The experience was a rewarding one for Williams. “I want to help in any way I can to be of assistance to my brothers and sisters in Christ,” said Williams. “It’s good for the heart.”
Through Catalyst, students will continue to involve themselves in matters of the heart as they nurture relationships, such as with the mobile home community, and by entering areas where they will be tangible witnesses of God’s love.