Building Futures Fall 2020

Fall 2020

buildingfutures A GLIMPSE INTO MOUNTAIN OUTREACH

THROUGH FLOOD AND PANDEMIC,

STILL MAKING A DIFFERENCE

The flooding in southeastern Kentucky this year broke records. Water covered school buses, closed roads, filled valleys, ruined houses, damaged facilities, and swept away entire buildings. The damages cost millions of dollars in repairs across the Commonwealth. Some families watched their source of income wash away in a single storm.

Sally Gap Farms boasts beautiful farmland and seasonal activities (the most popular being their pumpkin patch in autumn), and they sell fresh vegetable bushel baskets and flowers year-round. But this February, it was more flood than farm. The Meadors family, who owns Sally Gap, posted a heartfelt video on Facebook. The typically happy farm was underwater and severely damaged. Dark storm clouds promised even more rain.

“When you watch your dreams float down the river, it’s hard to watch,” said Rich Meadors, the father of the family.

“A lot of kids made memories here. To see it gone… It just crushes me.”

Micah Linton, a senior at Cumberlands, and Rocky Brown, Director of Mountain Outreach (MO), joined community members on February 15th to help clean up the farm.

“I’d never seen flood damage like that before,” Linton said. “A lot of their buildings were just gone. Their fence lines were torn up. The water came through, and it just destroyed things. We wanted to help the family and recover whatever could be salvaged.”

The family was taken aback by the help they received. By the end of the day, Rich Meadors considered the volunteers “more like family than friends.” Thanks in part to the community's help, and thanks more so to the Lord's provision and grace, Sally Gap Farms is up and running again, even better than before.

2 Ι UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS

That's not all. Even though students couldn't volunteer this summer, which left MO without much manpower, Brown found ways to continue helping local families; it just took extra creativity and networking. Brown contacted local churches and government programs to pinpoint the families with most need and figure out how best to help them. Thankfully, God has blessed MO over the years with generous donations that can change peoples' lives, no matter the situation. Funding from those donors helped MO make many important projects possible that would have otherwise been left undone.

Brown completed many projects himself in addition to those carried out by experienced contractors from the community.

This spring and summer, MO provided much-needed water heaters for two families, built a ramp for a single father who had surgery, built a new roof and did electrical work for an elderly gentleman, and delivered 55 disaster-relief buckets to local families after the flooding and severe storm winds, among other projects.

Rain or shine, flood or dry, pandemic or not, Mountain Outreach never slows down. The mission of Christ continues, as does MO's ministry work.

UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS Ι 3

Christopher Tucker, '09

Volunteered with MO as a student and graduate assistant from 2005-2011 “When I came onto campus in August 2005, it was all about me. God quickly began to go to work on me, teaching me the importance of serving others. The first small project I participated in with MO was building a wheelchair ramp for an elderly, disabled gentleman who had not been able to leave his house in months. I will never forget the look on the man's face when he was able to roll down the ramp and make it to the car. In that moment I knew that God had placed me at Cumberlands for a larger purpose.

“I was incredibly blessed to be mentored by people like program director Marc Hensley, faculty member Dr. Chris Leskiw, and many others within the Cumberlands family. MO is where people come to serve but often feel like they gained more than they contributed. I learned several valuable leadership lessons. Flexibility was a must! In the words of Hensley, 'Blessed are the flexible for they shall not break.' Now, as an assistant principal at a large high school, I refer to this mantra on a daily basis! I learned how to be sensitive when working with at-risk and highneeds populations. I learned how to coordinate multiple projects at one time simultaneously and meet deadlines.

Managing a team of 10-12 college students that basically work 70-80 hours each week between the construction and group activities with volunteer groups that range in age from 13 to 70 taught me how to manage various personalities and stressful situations, and how to leverage strengths of different team members. The lessons I learned have paid dividends down the road. Lastly, the relationships I built through MO have made a lifelong impact on who I am today. I can only hope that the program continues to flourish and that young college students have the opportunity to learn about embracing a life of serving others.”

WAREHOUSE CLEANUP, REMODELING

The MO warehouse in Emlyn, KY, got a much-needed spring cleaning this year. In addition to cataloging inventory of equipment and deep cleaning the whole warehouse, MO staff renovated this corner of the building into wood-working stations for students to use.

The stations are laid out to enable the highest efficiency and equipped with quality equipment to help ensure excellence. They will be used to teach basic woodworking skills and make beds for the annual B-Squad event.

4 Ι UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS

ROCKY BROWN

NEW DIRECTOR OF MOUNTAIN OUTREACH

THE YEAR IN

REVIEW

$17K TO GIVE CHRISTMAS GIFTS & FOOD TO 200+ FAMILIES

Rocky Brown stepped in as Director of Mountain Outreach this spring, bringing in more than 20 years’ worth of construction experience.

Brown remarked, “It was kind of funny when I got the job because they said, ‘We want you to do service projects, help the community, and share the gospel.’ I smiled and said, ‘And you’re going to pay me to do this?’ Those are all things I absolutely love to do. There’s nothing better.”

Brown’s résumé includes extensive experience in HVAC, electrical, trim and finish carpentry, roofing, and doors and windows, along with some experience with sheetrock, painting, framing, and concrete work. He led projects as an electrician in the Department of Operations at University of the Cumberlands for three years. He has worked for a handful of other companies who specialize in hardware and construction, as well as completed freelance projects independently for friends and family.

Besides his work for Mountain Outreach, Brown is the father of three girls and one little boy whom Brown calls “the four best kids on the planet, whom I love with all my heart.”

“I dedicate my life to teaching people to believe and understand God’s Word for themselves,” Brown said. “It is a great honor to teach God’s Word.

The Lord Jesus Christ died for me, and I assure you He died for all because I possess no unique skill or ability that would cause me to stand out in His sight. I am beyond thankful that He laid His life down for me as the payment for my sin and for the sin of the world.”

Brown credits the Lord with giving him the skills and abilities he possesses, and he does his best to use those “to work in the Kingdom” helping fellow believers and “reaching out to the lost” as opportunities present themselves.

158 HOUSEHOLDS SERVED AT KIDS' GIFT DAYS

14

PROJECTS THIS SPRING & SUMMER Whatever you do, work at it as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.

Colossians 3:23 UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS Ι 5

SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF THESE MOUNTAIN OUTREACH DESIGNS, BUILDS BEDS FOR "GUTSY GUNNER'S SWEET DREAMS EVENT"

Mountain Outreach (MO) has partnered with the B-Squad, a local non-profit, to construct beds for underprivileged local children. The B-Squad identifies children who do not have beds and provides them with brand-new ones – complete with a new mattress, sheets, pillows, and blankets – shortly before Christmas.

Beginning in 2019, student volunteers at MO researched, designed, and developed a construction plan for sturdy twin beds that could be assembled easily and bunked if needed. MO is continuing its partnership with the B-Squad to make this a recurring project.

ROLE MODELS AT KIDS' GIFT DAYS

When college students walk into an elementary school, they may as well be celebrities. That’s what it feels like to the kids at the local schools where Mountain Outreach (MO) comes in for Kids’ Gift Days.

“It’s all about our students engaging as role models for these little kids,” said Marc Hensley, former Director of Mountain Outreach. “We want our students to really invest in them while we’re here.”

Kids’ Gift Days hold special meaning for Luke Wohlfarth, a freshman baseball player who volunteered this year.

Wohlfarth used to be one of the excited elementary kids.

Now, he’s the “celebrity” he looked up to as a child.

“It’s neat coming back to where I came from,” he said.

“As kids, we never saw someone compete at that level.

6 Ι UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS

The students opened my eyes to what I could do.”

Kids’ Gift Days provided gifts for 1,265 children this year at Whitley North, Whitley East, Pleasant View, and Boston Elementary Schools.

According to the principal at Boston, sometimes the kids are so excited about the gifts they can’t wait until Christmas; they tear open the bags that afternoon at parent pick-up, saying, “Look what I got you!”

It’s an exciting time of year. It’s part of the Christmas magic: decorations, gifts, snow, and the college students who encourage the kids to work hard, to dream big, and, of course, to have a very merry Christmas.

THE SPIRIT OF GIVING CHRISTMAS GIFT DAY 2019

For Mountain Outreach (MO), ushering in the holidays means getting into the spirit of giving. The annual Gift Day helps the MO volunteers do just that.

More than 100 volunteers served 141 families this December. They walked families through the MO warehouse helping them choose toys for their children, handing them diapers and baby wipes if they have an infant in the house, and loading food into their vehicles.

Toys for Tots went above and beyond in providing highquality, well-thought toys for all ages, as well as giving of their time to volunteer at Gift Day. The families’ gratitude was evident. The moment they came in from the cold, they began smiling.

Approximately 20,000 pounds of kid-friendly foods like hot dogs, ravioli, applesauce, pudding cups, and cereal, along with staple items like cooking oil, flour, pancake and cornbread mix, beans, rice, vegetables, fresh fruit, and potatoes were stuffed into cars.

Brennan Shortridge, a freshman football player at

Cumberlands, helped prepare the warehouse before Gift Day. He did not realize the event would be so large.

“It’s a lot more than I expected,” Shortridge said. “It’s cool interacting with the people here. Working with MO has really opened my eyes to what I have, how blessed I am, and what I can do for other people. I just want to see people go home happy today, that’s it.”

Gift Day opens the students’ eyes to the need around them and provides glimpses into other people’s lives.

The event is usually held the Saturday before students take their final exams for the semester, so as a bonus, it can be refreshing for them to get outdoors and do something besides study.

Some of the families served by Mountain Outreach may not have had a real Christmas otherwise. But now, with their cupboards stocked and presents under the tree, they can relax and enjoy the holidays. The MO volunteers can enjoy them too, knowing that their spirit of giving made a real difference this holiday season.

UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS Ι 7

buildingfutures

A GLIMPSE INTO MOUNTAIN OUTREACH Fall 2020 . VOLUME 7 Mountain Outreach is a non-profit service organization operated by University of the Cumberlands. Since the organization’s inception in 1982, students and volunteers have built 151 homes from the ground up in Southeastern Kentucky and have completed renovations on hundreds more. The program’s outreach also includes numerous service projects that help children, the elderly, and financially-struggling families with critical and urgent needs.

For more information about how to help, please visit ucumberlands.edu/mountainoutreach