by Bailey Burnett | Mar 4, 2020 | News Slider, Student Spotlight
Lipscomb students come together with other volunteers Thursday evenings to participate in Feeding the Hungry at St. John’s United Methodist Church. This weekly event provides a hot meal as well as clothing and other necessities to anyone in the community in need. “We do the food pantry and the clothes closet,” said Sandra Griggs, St. John’s United Methodist Church pastor and wife of Alan Griggs, associate professor of communication and journalism. Students portion salads, wash dishes, serve the food, clean the tables and do anything they can to help the other service members, according to the pastor. St. John’s is open from 3 to 5:30 p.m. every Thursday, and anyone is welcome to come to the clothes closet and get a free meal. Around 7 p.m. the volunteers begin cleaning up. Both the food pantry and clothes closet are supplied by a variety of donors. “Deodorant, soap, clothes or leftover food. This stuff is all donated,” said Sandra Griggs. St. John’s Methodist Church has been feeding the community every week for close to 20 years and has plans to continue. “We have all sorts of people come to serve. We have newcomers, church members, and people from all different churches,” she said. “We would love any help we can get for these events. We have high school students that need to do community service, college students, and people from the community. Teenagers can come as long as they have a parent with them.” As a part of Lipscomb’s emphasis on service-learning, students from the university have become regular helpers at St. John’s. “We have Lipscomb students come at least...
by Crystal Davis | Jan 17, 2012 | Uncategorized
Lipscomb students gathered Saturday, Jan. 14 to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by serving the community in coalition with the SALT program. “We wanted to give students the opportunity to remember the legacy of Dr. King through service this weekend,” said SALT Program Assistant John Williams. “We have planned projects with Feed the Children, the Red Cross and Hands on Nashville to prime and paint the walls of Fire Station #20 in Nashville. Nearly 100 students have already registered to participate in service projects over the weekend.” Williams and the SALT program offered Tier 1 SALT credit, chapel credit and free t-shirts to student volunteers who opted to revamp the dated fire station walls. They painted throughout the common area, the bathrooms and the space allotted for the firefighters to sleep while on break at the station. The fire station had freshly painted walls by the end of the day. On-duty firefighters smiled as they looked around the station and expressed their deep appreciation for the volunteer work. “This project was a blessing to not only Lipscomb but also to the community,” said Trey Hudgins, vice president of Sigma Pi Beta. “The importance of recognizing how much courage Dr. King had to stand up for what he believed in is monumental and definitely reflected this past Saturday by the volunteers choosing to take time out of their weekend to serve others. “The roots of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. involved love and his compassion for others, which is a perfect representation of the love Christ had for us. Needless to say, the volunteers being there also showed that...
by Rachel Carden | Nov 4, 2010 | News Slider
On September 9, Room in the Inn’s new downtown Nashville campus at 705 Drexel Street officially opened its doors and welcomed in all those who don’t have a place to call home. November 1 began the 2010-2011 Room in the Inn season with more than 160 congregations around the city opening their doors to the homeless for one night when the downtown campus closes. The new $13 million, 44,000 square foot state-of-the-art building features a café and stage, 13 classrooms, storage facilities, a chapel, a rooftop garden, a built-in giant chess board and three stories of permanent and affordable apartments. It is the completion of a dream 25 years in the making by founder Father Charlie Strobel. “It’s amazing how much difference a peanut butter and jelly sandwich can make,” are the words of Strobel displayed in the lobby of the building for all to see. Room in the Inn operates under seven missions: “Through the power of spirituality and the practice of love, Room In The Inn’s Campus for Human Development provides hospitality with a respect that offers hope in a community of non-violence.” They strive to provide these fundamental needs to the over 400 visitors struggling with homelessness every day. One of the main goals of Room in the Inn is to educate its members so they one day can get back on their feet and provide for themselves. Literacy programs, computer skills training, and art and music classes are just a few of the many programs offered to anyone who is willing to take them. Vanderbilt University Law School and Belmont University assist with these programs as well...
by Allison Woods | May 2, 2010 | News Slider
Click to expand the video player. SAC (LTV) – Cots are not items usually found in the Student Activities Center. But when the Red Cross calls, Lipscomb responds. The heavy rain and thunderstorms last night led to severe flooding across Middle Tennesee, and the Red Cross immediately responded with several shelters, one right here on campus. The SAC is set up with sleeping areas for families, single males, single females and the elderly. Volunteers brought in snacks and drinks with the intention of staying all night. Lipscomb University is the only shelter set up in Davidson County, and the SAC is equipped for several hundred people. Tim Temple, a Red Cross Volunteer from Nashville, was headed out of town but quickly changed his plans. “They called all of us and said ‘Be ready,'” he said. The Red Cross works with churches, recreation centers and schools to set up shelters. He said that Lipscomb and the Red Cross had an agreement ahead of time, so the university was on the emergency shelter list. Hurricane Gustav two years ago was Lipscomb’s first experience with the Red Cross. Lipscomb housed people for a week in the SAC and McQuiddy. So faculty, staff and students know the drill for working in an emergency. “It really is nice that people help us,” Temple said. The Red Cross contacted Lipscomb around 5:30 p.m., and within the hour volunteers were on site setting up the SAC and McQuiddy. Walt Leaver, a coordinator for the event, immediately contacted Mike Smith to get students involved. “It’s really pretty exciting, first of all, to see the way the Lipscomb...
