60 shovels
40 rakes
10 loads of mulch
25 flats of flowers
110 shrubs
57 projects
3 nursing homes visited
27 private residences
3 health screenings
3 pet shelters
2 gardens tilled and planted
$600 total in gift card donations
All of this combined made for a successful Operation Inasmuch.
Over 500 students, faculty and staff participated in the second annual Operation Inasmuch at Campbell University on April 4. Operation Inasmuch is a day in which participants go into the community and serve others through various service and ministry projects.
The day started off with a volunteer’s meeting in Academic Circle on campus for registration, doughnuts and encouragement.
“Nothing demonstrates being a good neighbor and showing Jesus’ name than helping others,” said Dr. Jerry Wallace, president of Campbell University.
As the students dispersed to their projects, a sense of excitement was in the air.
“It’s a great feeling to help out the community,” said pharmacy student Meghan Dawes. “We are a big group of people and have the manpower to complete a lot of jobs.”
Dawes’ group worked at Buies Creek Elementary School planting flowers, picking weeds and cleaning up trash.
Other projects included creating a community garden for seniors, making balloon animals for shut-ins, hosting a soccer camp for local children and building a wheelchair ramp.
Cape Fear Christian Academy was one of the projects assigned to Campbell’s volunteers. They worked with students, staff and parents of Cape Fear Christian Academy to complete projects on their campus.
Participants cleaned windows, arranged pine straw, mopped the cafeteria and prepared the gymnasium for a tournament. The biggest project of the day was transforming an old building space into a weight room and storage facility for Cape Fear Christian athletics.
“This project shows spirited cooperation within the Christian education community,” said Al Myatt, Athletic Director of Cape Fear Christian Academy.
A team consisting of junior business major Michelle Nichols, junior pre-med major Lenzy Stephenson, junior clinical research major Kumal Patel and university employees Woody Womack and Ryan Ingram spent the day cleaning brush and debris from the Jeff Stewart Veterans Memorial Park in Buies Creek in an effort to prepare the site for further additions.
Joyce Stewart, who established the park in memory of her father Jeff, hopes to transform the bare, wet land into a beautiful park.
“I hope we can get it landscaped into something the community and campus can both enjoy,” said Stewart.
She commended the students and staff for their efforts.
“This helps a lot,” she said. “That ditch is probably the biggest pain and having these guys clean it is a big help to me.”
The day was deemed a success by campus minister Faithe Beam.
“The day seemed to capture students at two important points of need: to help in a meaningful way and to be in community with others,” she said. “Students, faculty and staff joined together with eager hearts and hands ready and willing to serve in the name of Christ. It was a great day for the Campbell community and a reminder of how we ought to live as faithful servants of God.”
Photo Copy: Campbell University participated in Operation Inasmuch on April 4. Students Kumal Patel and Lenzy Stephenson work at the Jeff Stewart Veterans Memorial Park in Buies Creek. Photo by Shannon Ryals.
Amanda Johnson, student writer, contributed to this release.