Helping College Students Serve the World
Year-round volunteers mobilize students to get involved with Operation Christmas Child.
Katherine Lash, Student Relations volunteer at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, promotes shoebox packing on her campus by serving on the leadership team of their Operation Christmas Child club.
A junior at Liberty, Katherine has packed shoebox gifts since she was 3 years old. But it wasn’t until her sophomore year of college that she became a year-round volunteer.
Katherine has enjoyed raising the visibility of Operation Christmas Child on campus through a block party event as well as a “shoebox blitz” in November. Her team organized the latter as a school-sponsored time for students to shop together for shoeboxes after their usual curfew. Students then went to the “Shoebox Central” tent to pray over and drop off their packed boxes and have milk and cookies.
“A lot of college students have a heart to serve,” Katherine said, “they just don’t know where.” She enjoys mobilizing students and giving them worldwide influence for the Gospel through Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse.
Reflecting on her role as a Student Relations volunteer, Katherine said, “We sometimes feel that we’re young compared to the other volunteers, but we can impact the students around us and our peers right next to us. There really is a volunteer position for everyone, every personality, and every age.”
This article is part of our January series highlighting year-round volunteers who serve through Operation Christmas Child.
