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JACKSON, Tenn. — Oct. 30, 2019 — Across Jackson on Tuesday morning, Union students, faculty and staff demonstrated the love of Christ through 50 different service projects throughout the community.

For the last 17 years, Union has taken a day off from classes to remember God’s providential protection over the campus during three tornadoes (’02, ’03 and ’08) and give back to the Jackson community. This year, approximately 750 students participated in service projects during “Campus and Community: A Day of Remembrance and Service.”

“This has gone on for 17 years not just because of those times where the tornadoes hit and we should have lost people, but because God is still sovereign — he is sovereign every day, he is sovereign every minute, and he is over us,” said Stephen Neu, University Ministries’ coordinator for service and mobilization.

On campus in White Hall, chemistry majors demonstrated organic chemistry labs to a 10th grade chemistry class from Augustine School. Kristina Troge, a chemistry teacher at Augustine, said she is appreciative that Union provided this opportunity for her students to have hands-on experience.

“Getting the students to see what a college chemistry lab can be like is so crucial in getting them excited about the possibility of taking chemistry classes or maybe even choosing chemistry as a major or something in the sciences,” Troge said. “Interacting with the [Union] students is key because they’re not that much older than they are, and it doesn’t seem like it’s out of their reach.”

Dillon Graves, junior chemistry major, is one of the Union students who demonstrated the labs.

“I think it’s important to show high school students that we have a strong science program here,” Graves said. “Our chemistry program is really solid, and it is very Christ-focused.”

Across the bypass at Liberty Garden Park and Arboretum, members of the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society worked to clean out kudzu, trim hedges, clear tree canopies and put down mulch. Jack Baudo, master gardener liaison for Liberty Park and owner of Mama Baudo’s Chow Bella restaurant, said keeping the park beautiful is important because so many people of all walks of life use and enjoy it.

“It takes community support to make this park look like it does,” Baudo said.

Addison Osborne, junior history and political science double major, said this is her second year helping clean up the park.

“This is a great day that Union does to take a break from classes and to serve the community,” Osborne said. “Learning is great, but there’s more to ourselves than just filling our self with knowledge. It’s nice to go and actually do things and serve.”

At Birth Choice, a crisis pregnancy center, Union students and employees stuffed approximately 2,000 envelopes with a Christmas newsletter for donors. The letter shared the story of a 16-year-old with an unexpected pregnancy who chose life because of Birth Choice.

“The purpose of this project and this newsletter is really allowing the Jackson community to see what’s happening within the walls of the clinic, to hear the stories and to see that life is being changed here,” said Mikayla Simpson, senior history major and president of Life 139, a pro-life student organization. “It’s what I like to call ‘kingdom work’ — it’s work in this life that has an eternal impact.”

In downtown Jackson, the women’s softball team worked together at the Regional Inter-Faith Association to pack backpack lunches for a local school system where many families live below the poverty line and children are at risk for hunger over the weekend.

Cloee-Anna Merritt, junior exercise science major, said she wanted to be involved in reaching out and showing love and care to the community. Merritt said her team is more than just athletes, and their identity is not solely as softball players.

“We still want to be kind, genuine people and live lives for Christ and give all the glory to him,” she said.

Through these 50 projects, Union also strove to create awareness of the needs in the surrounding community, Neu said.

“We have so many gifted students who can be connected with ways to serve,” Neu said. “We hope this day is a launching point for many of them to serve in the coming years.”