By: Noelle Beans
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On February 17th, Grant County Rescue Mission (GCRM) held their annual Walk-A-Mile. As the name states, participants walk a mile for this fundraising event. Funds are raised by generous donations from organizations and companies. These groups will often sponsor a team of walkers for $500. This year, Indiana Wesleyan students themselves donated over $300.
Over 70 IWU students walked in the event. IWU professor and president of the GCRM board, Jim Lo, disclosed that they secretly hope for it to be cold on the day of the walk. This may sound like an odd hope, but it is wished because it gives walkers the chance to understand and empathize with the homeless of Grant County who bear this every day. Along with the IWU students who joined the walk, 670 people in total participated in the event. This number is more walkers than past years.
Along with the Walk-A-Mile, IWU students are involved in a variety of missions in Marion and Grant County. Student chaplains go to Mission Mart. Dakota Davisson, an IWU student and resident chaplain of Reed Hall, shared about her experience with GCRM: “My experience volunteering at GCRM was eye opening, because I was able to truly see the needs of our community. One specific need being a warm cooked meal. Often times I take for granted my meal plan at school, but yet there are community members who would do anything for a single meal even if that means walking a mile. Working in the kitchen at GCRM allowed me to truly serve my brothers and sisters in Christ. GCRM does a great job at not only giving the community members a warm meal but they equip men and women to be able to get back on their feet. As I served meals I realized that I wanted to have the attitudes of those who had nothing. Because in the end it’s not the stuff in our lives that will bring us joy but rather those in our lives.” Jim Lo emphasized that he is so impressed by the actual involvement of IWU students and the ownership of the community they are in.
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Written by Noelle Beans, a writer for the Alumni Center. Noelle is a freshman Nursing and Honors Humanities double major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College.