VOLUNTEER STUDENTS COMMIT TO SERVICE The JESUS Project was a group of students working to help children in El Salvador. The bulk of the students involved were Walton Scholars, a group of students from Central America and Mexico. The students received scholarships from the Walton Foundation to attend Harding and to return to their countries with their newly developed skills. The JESUS Project was founded by Walton Scholars in 1997 to support small, rural communities that possessed the potential for tourism. It became a legally established nonprofit in El Salvador in 2005. The primary goal was to help the children in those communities graduate high school and to provide them with the skill set to work in tourism and uphold a growing economy. They focused on three communities in El Salvador: lcacal, Cerro Verde and La Leona. Senior Henry Gonzalez, a Walton Scholar and a member of the JESUS Project, was involved in several service projects and mission trips with the JESUS Project during his time at Harding. "Back in 2010, I went to the JESUS Project's mission trip in El Salvador," Gonzalez said. "It was a life-changing experience because I realized that there were people that have a sincere desire to succeed that just do not have the opportunities. The JESUS Project helps hundreds of children to have access to education and to a better future." JESUS Project sponsor Nicky Boyd was proud of the way the organization had grown through the years. Boyd enjoyed working with the large number of students involved in the group. "The JESUS Project is the perfect example of what Sam and Helen Walton envisioned when they started the Walton Scholarship Program," Boyd said. "Bring bright students from Senior Bailee Searcey passes out the agenda for an HUmanity meeting on Jan. 21. The group met throughout the year to raise awareness and funds to end human trafficking. Janae Callicoat Freshman Megan Albers and sophomore Luis Chinchilla read instructions for the next segment of the scavenger hunt sponsored by the JESUS Project on Nov. 8. The group used the event and other fundraisers throughout the year to provide opportunities for ministry and education for children in El Salvador. Jerry Eberly Central America to Harding, educate them and then return them home to make a difference in their country. The JESUS Project has been making a difference to the children of El Salvador since 1997." The JESUS Project took mission trips to El Salvador in the summers to bring school supplies and to build relationships with the students they helped throughout the school year. During the school year, the JESUS Project organized the summer mission trips and fund raisers held during the school semesters. Those fundraisers included a scavenger hunt, a Pupusa sale, as well as flower and chocolate sales on Valentine's Day. Along with service projects, fundraisers and summer mission trips, the JESUS Project participated in the Harding Bazaar since its inception in 2011. In 2013, the group sold jewelry, some of which was handmade in El Salvador and Guatemala. Junior Lisi Padilla, also a member of the JESUS Project and a Walton scholar, considered the JESUS Project her opportunity to show her gratitude for the blessings she received through the organization and the Walton Scholar program. "My favorite part of the JESUS Project is seeing the smile of the kids when they receive school supplies or when the team goes there to play with them,'' Padilla said. "I am beyond blessed by my scholarship, so I ... enjoy helping fundraise for the kids in El Salvador. I feel like it is something I can do to show gratitude for what God has given me." Padilla expressed the mission of the JESUS Project: showing gratitude for the opportunities the members received by extending those same opportunities to other children. Mandy Valentine ~ ~" -:-. ... , .. ~-:!Ii! ,.-.,..,~-~
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