Campbellsville University freshmen buy pizzas for those in need

By Jordan Snider, student news writer

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Four CU freshmen students donate left-over meal Flex Dollars to feed those less fortunate. From left are: Marcus Rodgers, Madison Malone, Katy Carmichael, Bailey Nall, Sara Bash and Brenda Allen.

CAMPBELLSVILLE, KY (12/21/2016)(readMedia)-- During her first finals week in college, Bailey Nall, a freshman at Campbellsville University from Elizabethtown, Ky., was thinking how she could make the most of her leftover meal Flex Dollars.

She decided to help others using her Flex Dollars that come with the university's meal plan and which would expire at the end of the semester. Nall and three of her friends combined their leftover Flex Dollars for a total of $365 that they could spend at any of the Flex Dollar friendly establishments.

The students asked their academic coach, Marcus Rodgers, if he would be willing to help them find families who would need food. Rodgers contacted Green River Ministries, a homeless shelter located in Campbellsville, that partners with other agencies to help provide services to the community.

Rodgers contacted Brenda Allen, former mayor of Campbellsville who serves as chairwoman of the Green River Ministries Board, who helped organize the donation of the food.

The students were able to purchase 24 pizzas which were then donated to Green River Ministries and then given to individual families in need. Allen was able to deliver some of the pizzas to families in neighborhoods around Campbellsville while others gave pizza to the homeless and those in other areas of the town.

Some of the families had young children, and Allen said it was heartwarming to see how excited the children were to have hot food to eat.

"The girls have definitely earned the star on their crown. This was such an unselfish act of kindness," Allen said.

Rodgers said all four of the students were "joyful and excited for the opportunity to donate the food."

He said they were eager to give and felt honored to be a position to help.

Rodgers was complimentary of the students' generosity calling it "very impressive for freshmen to have."

"The girls were eager to give and seemed to understand the reason for giving, and that is because God has blessed us so much, and it is our job as believers to share that with others. The young ladies took an opportunity at hand and decided to bless other people. That is what servant leadership is all about," Rodgers said.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 4,500 students offering over 80 programs of study including 19 master's degrees, six postgraduate areas and seven pre-professional programs. The university has off-campus centers in Louisville, Harrodsburg, Somerset and Hodgenville with instructional sites in Elizabethtown, Owensboro, and Summersville and a full complement of online programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.