High school students from Harrells Christian Academy are preparing for a journey to make their community a better place.
HCA’s C-Mester initiative is set for Feb. 20 through Feb. 22. The program is devoted to missions and allows students, also known as Crusaders, give back to the community through actions such as prayer, labor and donations. Students will serve in different locations throughout the area.
Some of the work includes painting at Rock Fish Meadows, right outside Rose Hill; landscaping at Camp Kirkwood; and the senior center in Harrells. Students will also help the Eastern Baptist Association rebuild homes devastated by Hurricane Matthew and help elderly residents throughout Harrells.
Aaron Smith, director of student life, is guiding the students through the journey. He believes the C-Mester project teaches them the importance of serving others.
“With Harrells being a Christian school, service is somethin that we value,” Smith said. “I think it teaches them that and it gives them the opportunity to serve the community they come from.”
Another organization, students from HCA will help is Enlighten The World Ministries, an assistance program which distributes food, clothing and personal hygiene items to homeless and needy families in Sampson County. In addition to maintenance work at the building, the students will host food drives at Piggly Wiggly stores throughout Clinton. Diapers will be collected as well.
Thom Miles, director of Enlighten The World Ministries, showed appreciation for the upcoming service. This year will mark the organization’s second time working with HCA.
“I love it,” Miles said. “They collected a lot of food for us that time and hopefully we’ll get a lot of food and diapers.”
Miles said the local diaper bank distributes 2,000 diapers per week through the health department.
“So we can use all the diapers we can get right now,” Miles said.
In 2016, numerous projects were competed though the C-Mester project. Some of the work included painting, assembling gifts for wounded warriors and ministering to Costa Rican orphans.