Monroe, N.C.—-On Saturday, July 26, Benton Heights Presbyterian Church in Monroe hosted a Shoes of Hope distribution in conjunction with Samaritan’s Feet. Volunteers from the church, Piedmont High, Sun Valley High and Wingate University ministered to more than 130 children from Benton Heights Elementary. The Wingate University volunteers included student-athletes from the Bulldog men’s soccer and cheerleading teams.
The volunteers started by greeting the children and washing their feet. Afterwards, they fitted the children with new shoes and socks and gave each child a backpack filled with school supplies. Families also enjoyed snacks, arts and crafts and a photo booth.
“Each student spent individual time with a volunteer who shared Christ’s love by washing their feet,” Benton Heights Presbyterian Church pastor Paul Saleeby says. “This was a great opportunity for our church family to reach out to the community.”
SAMARITAN’S FEET
Samaritan’s Feet shares hope with children in the U.S. and around the world by washing their feet, giving them a new pair of shoes and helping the children believe that their dreams can come true. Samaritan’s Feet staff feels a new pair of shoes can be a tangible foundation of hope to a person in need.
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
Wingate University, ranked as the 8th “best value” in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,000 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity.
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past eight years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000’s with 67 selections. Among North Carolina’s colleges and universities, Wingate’s 67 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate’s 76 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.
(Wingate University Admissions visit coordinator Jessica Teague contributed this article. Teague and her family are members at Benton Heights Presbyterian Church.)
Source: http://www.wingatebulldogs.com/news/2014/7/28/MSOC_0728143151.aspx