NCU Students Embrace the Community

On Wednesday, September 30th, the students of Northwest Christian University ventured out into the community to make a difference. Adorned in their new golden yellow t-shirts, the day had finally come to officially embrace the community.

Community Outreach Coordinator Britni Steiling, a junior at NCU, put much time into organizing NCU's first annual "Embracing the Community Day." There were nine different outreach locations and many students signed up to serve at each of them. For those who chose Camp Harlow to serve at, basic yard work and maintenance was their main focus. Other students teamed up with Free People of Eugene, walking the streets and handing out food and basic hygiene supplies.

Food for Lane County needed NCU students to help with basic yard work to help prepare for an upcoming event. At St. Vincent de Paul's, students worked hard to meet a variety of needs of the underprivileged in the local area. This included anything from yard work and maintenance to home visits and help with organizing their thrift store.

St. Thomas Preschool, Gilham Elementary, and Thurston Elementary asked students to facilitate playground maintenance and work with their elementary students. Students worked on the facility that provides food and a safe environment to kids for Hosea Youth Ministry. Lastly, South Hills Rehabilitation Center asked for any volunteers willing to visit with and read to the residents and also participate in their daily activities with them.

"I would definitely call ETC Day a success," said Steiling. "My main objective was helping students find places in the local area to pour into, where they were personally connected and their hearts were stirred. Considering the fact that I have heard of at least one student making plans to return to each location, I would say we definitely reached that goal! In addition, we received personal thank you emails from St. Vincent De Paul's and Food for Lane County. God is good, and I was overjoyed to see how his love touched the Eugene community as well as our own campus community!"