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Students on mission help in Tennessee
By Sabrina Foskett
Staff Writer
Morgan and Scott counties in Tennessee have experienced a consistent loss of human economic resources over recent years, and, with 29 percent of families falling below the poverty line, that makes these counties two of the most poverty stricken in Tennessee.
Olivet College students and staff recently traveled to Tennessee on a Service Trip to help. The trip took 10 hours traveling through rigorous mountain trails and many traffic stops. The students who participated were freshmen Heather Wolcott, Whitney Carranza, Elizabeth Tengler, Jenessa Olson, Nicole Demerly, and Ryan Hargraves; juniors Matthew Hoppes and Shyam Shrestha; and seniors Edward Haynes, James Boyd, Matthew Duncan, and Sabrina Foskett, as well as staff members Michael Fales, director of church relations and campus ministries, and Bridget Ferrigan, Michigan Campus Compact AmeriCorps (VISTA).
The outreach, known as the Morgan-Scott Project, provides a common cooperative base for churches, agencies, and individuals to identify the problems of and provide the solutions for people in peril in Morgan and Scott counties. The Morgan-Scott Project develops activities, provides training, offers assistance, and gives support to help break the cycle of poverty.
Fales said, “Our students spent the day building several wheelchair ramps and creating family apartments in a former school building that is being converted into a homeless shelter.”
Fales also said, “Saturday evening the students asked if we could eat at a benefit dinner rather than buy food and prepare our own meal. The dinner raised funds for a local man who had recently had a heart attack and needed heart surgery. The man has no health insurance. We spent the evening together with residents of the area enjoying a local Gospel band, good food, and an auction, all while helping the needs of a local family. Sunday morning we worshiped at the Deer Lodge Congregational Church and almost doubled the congregation.”
Participant Tengler said, “The trip was an unforgettable feeling; the thought of being able to make a difference in someone else’s life and having fun with your friends at the same time is indescribable.”
Fales also said, “On Dec. 6 we will be staying overnight at Morgan Scott on our way to New Orleans. One of their ministries is a toy drive prior to Christmas. We would like to invite the college community to join us in collecting new unwrapped toys that we will personally deliver to the families of Morgan and Scott counties in Tennessee on Dec. 6. If you would like to help, contact Bridget Ferrigan in the Office of Community Engagement, extension 7127.”
Senior Sabrina Foskett and ECHO staff member participated in this trip.
