Area businesses and students teamed up at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) on Valentine’s Day to support RISE Harrisonburg’s “love packs” program for area children and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) relief efforts.
Student volunteers prepared the packages as part of Spiritual Life Week. They used food and hygiene supplies purchased with donations from the week’s featured speaker, Amanda Miller Garber, pastor of RISE; Everence; Park View Federal Credit Union; and A Bowl of Good. Donations were valued at $1,200.
“The RISE love packs provide weekend food supplies for area children who receive free and reduced school meal plans,” said Brian Martin Burkholder, campus pastor.
In addition to the love packs, participants prepared relief kits for MCC, which recently depleted supplies with shipments to aid Syrian refugees.
“The students also collected eye glasses for medical missions in Honduras,” said Burkholder.
“We’ll be realizing God’s dream for the world by sharing something of abundance in situations of scarcity.”