Students forgo weekend leisure to serve area communities

CLICK HERE to view more photos from this year’s Operation Inasmuch on C-N’s Facebook page.

(Nov. 8, 2016) – On Saturday, Nov. 5, 486 members of the Carson-Newman campus community took part in the University’s 11th annual Operation Inasmuch service blitz. Teams of students, faculty and staff banded together to help at 32 project sites across Jefferson, Knox and Hamblen counties.

Service projects included work at Jefferson Elementary School, First Baptist Dandridge, Morristown’s Food on Foot ministry, Knoxville’s Random Acts of Flowers and cleanup efforts at Cherokee Lake.

Anya Piotrowski serves as community development coordinator with the University’s Bonner Center, which oversees the event. Piotrowski says the Center helps empower students to help lead in the effort. “This year marks the third year we’ve utilized sophomore, junior and senior Bonner Center students to both serve as site leaders at each community partner site and lead a guided reflection at the end of the service experience,” said Piotrowski.

The University was the first in the country to implement Operation Inasmuch, a program that has since been adopted by organizations and churches in 24 states.

The program’s name stems from Matthew 25:40, where Jesus says: “Inasmuch as you serve the least of these, you serve me.”