A group of students and volunteers from InterVarsity Christian Fellowship joined The Salvation Army’s Hurricane relief effort Saturday after receving word that there were not enough volunteers signed up for the day.
The fellowship from two colleges in Tampa spent the day in a Salvation Army Disaster Command Center and warehouse in Tampa, Florida, packing boxes with food and other supplies for hurricane victims.
Michelle Verrill, a graduate from The University of South Florida and an InterVarsity leader, explained to Salvation Army’s Major Gary W. Haupt why the group were there to help in the humid warehouse.
"We were told that people needed help. Jesus called us to serve and to be servants,” she said.
“We’re fortunate. I haven’t had power in a week,” she continued. “I can go to the grocery store. I know there are people who can’t do that.”
While Verrill knows she won’t meet all the people the group is helping, she said there is still an impact. “They know they are being cared for.”
According to Jeremy Stephens, the chief leader of the InterVarsity group, they help because it’s a “part of being world-changers.”
“We want to impact the world,” he said. “We volunteer at already established programs like [The Salvation Army]. We see ourselves as part of a global community.”
