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Contributed
Harrells, NC – For three very full days, whether traveling down the road in Harrells or flying to Costa Rica, HCA students rolled up their sleeves to help people in need. The school’s annual “C-Mester” projects are an opportunity for HCA students to live out the Christian call to service in real-world settings. This year those settings included a local church, an international ministry, a senior center, a hospital garden, two Christian camps, and a town park.
Closest to home, the Town of Harrells welcomed 26 students to its senior center and public park. This is the fifth year that Harrells students have provided significant cleaning and repair assistance to the town’s public spaces. At the senior center, students assisted with arts and crafts for residents.
Camp Kirkwood in Watha and Camp Rockfish Meadows in Rose Hill received much needed painting and landscaping help from a total of 46 HCA student volunteers.
At the Lake Church in White Lake, 26 students helped to renovate a home, organized a clothes closet, and provided yard maintenance for an elderly blind couple in the community. Students also helped reconstruct lake houses for a camp the Lake Church has recently purchased. The camp will serve as a youth retreat for visiting youth groups in the area.
In Clinton, a group of nine worked to landscape, construct shelving, and organize medical supplies at Tim’s Gift. Mrs. Becky Spell, the ministry’s founder, stated, “We are so very grateful to have such a powerful partnership with Harrells Christian Academy! You all helped us out a great deal with the indoor and outdoor work for the day.”
A small group of students worked with Habitat for Humanity to finish homes in both Burgaw and in Wilmington. Students learned to secure vinyl siding on the exterior of the home and caulk the rooms inside to seal cracks.
At Pender Memorial Hospital, five students cleaned up and prepared the hospital’s Ability Garden, which offers wheelchair-bound patients the chance to garden in special raised beds they can easily reach.
In Costa Rica, 13 Harrells students travelled to the city of Alajelita. They spent their mornings pouring the foundation for two much-needed new houses and their afternoons working with and playing with children in the neighborhood. The trip was capped off by a rafting adventure on the Pacuare River.
“Once again,” says C-mester coordinator Aaron Smith, “this special week gave our students the opportunity to serve their local communities.”
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