Freshman class officers raise money for Guyana native Freshman Kevin Lillis said he would never forget the first time he met Oscar in the small South American village of St. C uthbert's Mission, Guyana. Other members of Lillis' mission (earn had already visited Oscar and talkedabout his faith despite aCUlCcr· ous sore on his face. "I'm a first responder. so I thought maybe I could help," Lillis. a member of dlC Freshman Action Com· mirree, said. "When I gOt there and saw it, I knew it wasn't something I could do much abour." Oscar had seen all the docto rs in Georgerown, the capital of Guyana, but due to the lack of medical expertise and equipment, no one was sure what had caused the sore. Lillis said he was inspired byO scar's faith . "H is desire for God was amazing though," Lillis In thestudent life office, sophomore Nick May, assistant to senior Student Association president Josh Bundy, answers phone c alls Sept. 20 concerning Hur– ricane Katrina relief efforts. The SA coordinated 15 relief trips to Louisiana during the fall semester. ·Jonothon lindsoy said . "The whole time we were singing, he had his hands togeth~~ and rocked back and forth, listening ro every word. Lillis came back to his hometown ofAugusta, Ga., determined to do everything he could to help Oscar. After looking at pictures of O scar, Lillis' family doctor said it looked like Oscar had cancer and would need an operation. Lillis asked his doctors if they would be willing ro donate to the operation and any other medical care Oscar might need. The docwr agreedand [old Lillis ifhe couldget Oscar to Augusta, he would do the surgery. W hen Lillis came to Harding, he joined the FAC and mer freshman Gerald Davis. "I told (Lillisl if I won the election for freshman Student Association representative, the first th ing we would do would be to help Oscar," Davis said. Davis won, and at a &11 FAC meeting, the studentS talked about how [0 raise money for Oscar. "We decided to talk to all the clubs about the situ· ation and ask if they could help," FAC member Claire Dunnagan said. "There are 12 members ofthe commit· tCC, SO we all went to one or two dub meetings and wid them about Oscar." Davis made an annOlmcemem inchaJXl, and members of the FAC stood in the student center after chapel to collect donations. "If everyone gave $1, we would have more than double what we needed," Davis said. "I was really impressed by people's generosity; some people would pur $5 in." Davis 5.'lid theyalso put a container in Midnight Oil fat donations and collected around $60. Oscar was scheduled to arrive in rhe United Stares Feb. 4, but died before he was able to leave Guyana. Through their fund·raising efforts, the FAC raised more (han $2,000 before Oscar's death. "We gOt about $900 from school, and we were able to get the rest from churches," Davis said. Davis said the money was sent to Oscar's wife, and it was enough for her to live off of for many years. oJenniter Allen Row 1: K. Mabry. M. Mortland. J. Honeycutt, C. McEntyre. Row 2: Row 1: N. Thomas, l. Holt. C. Ferguson, C. Jordan, D. Wilson, N. Monte, J. McCall, M. Hewes. Row 2: K.lillis. T. Agee, S. Ficks. J. Bundy, D. Flatt, K. Estepp. Row 3: A. Baker, J. Nipper, E. Starnes, D. Allsbrook, D. Condolora, C. Nichol· son, l. Kaiser, J. Ellis, N. May. Row 4: P. Covert, G. Davis, C. Walker, C. Ryan, I. Thomas, C. Cantrell, B. Cherry, M. Jones, A. Thompson, K. Stewart. C. Cox, J. Ellis, I. Chambers, C . Fulks. Row 3: N. May, D. Vyers. "4'.fo~ organizations
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