Students serve broader community by packing 60,000 meals
By Lindsay Byrd · Contributing Writer
Two hundred Grove City students, faculty and community members will serve the broader Mercer County community for the second annual Amen to Action service event Saturday in the intermural rooms.
Throughout the college-hosted event, the community will pack 60,000 meals, which will be put in boxes and sent to food pantries and charity organizations across Mercer County, including the Grove City Food Bank just off campus.
With ingredients Meals of Hope provided, volunteers will pack vitamin-fortified oatmeal into sealed bags containing cooking instructions and nutritional information. These meals meet the material needs of countless individuals in the surrounding community who cannot fully support themselves financially and rely on the food bank for supplementary meals.
“As a Christ-centered institution, we are called to love our neighbor, and this event is a great way for our community to serve our neighbors in Mercer County,” Director of Campus Discipleship and Student Engagement Thomas Biro said.
Amen to Action is also a part of the new vision President Lingo is currently championing of furthering student discipleship across campus. Discipleship is the intentional process of becoming more like one’s leader and learning to act, think and live as they do.
Senior Finley Smith attended Amen to Action last fall.
“This opportunity opened my eyes to how a small gesture from students can have a great impact on our community. I would absolutely take the time to serve again through this event,” Smith said.
Regarding Amen to Action, the Christian Formation Office hopes to grow Grove City College students’ vision of kingdom discipleship through serving as a community, as Christ served.
“We hope that volunteers gain a greater understanding of the needs of the local community as we look to increase GCC’s kingdom service as a part of President Lingo’s vision for holistic discipleship,” Biro said.
Serving others can also be fun and rewarding.
Sophomore Hannah Stine said she volunteered at Amen to Action last year and didn’t know what to expect because she did not know who she volunteered with. By the end, she says her “expectations were completely blown away.”
“I found that I was not only serving the people who would receive the meals, but I was also blessed by my team as we communicated, passed the bags along and served up laughter,” Stine said.
