w _J 0... 0 w 0... N .......... SENIOR STARTS SEARCY TRANSPORTATION NONPROFIT WORDS Luke Theisen I I PHOTO Kazu F,gisaiva Despite his self-proclaimed lack of qualification, senior social work major Hayden Gadberry knew that his purpose was to create Vessel. "I was in class. We were talking about the necessity of transportation, especially in rural counties, and I had this idea," Gadberry said. "What if we do something like Uber, [but] with a purpose?" Vessel, a nonprofit ride-booking service, worked with different organizations in White County to give their clients rides to places like doctor appointments, job interviews, parole officer meetings and work. The organization's mission declared Vessel wanted to "[create] opportunities for self-sustaining lifestyles with free transportation." In May 2017, Gadberry put the plan in motion and within the first two weeks of operation Vessel was already giving an average of one ride a day. After hearing more about Vessel, senior social work major Morgan Spillan jumped on board to be a part of the nonprofit. "He approached a group of our friends on a weekend trip and then brought [Vessel] up kind of casually," Spillan said. "He asked us if somebody wanted to help write terms of service [policy]. I volunteered." Initially, Spillan thought she would only help start Vessel, but she continued to contribute working with the nonprofit for as long as she could. "I think Vessel is an answer to a much larger problem than just transportation in rural communities," Spillan said. "It's an answer to just people needing help and seeing people as [stereotypes]. Working with Vessel, you see someone as they are, as Christ made them." Carla Sumner, alumna and women's social club Iota Chi sponsor, asked Gadberry if she could be a part of Vessel after seeing his posts about it on social media. "It's a personal thing for me," Sumner said. "I know that a lot of these people have their children in foster care [and] can't keep down jobs and get their children back. It's an issue that doesn't affect just one person, it affects their family, their extended family. I just think that if they can stop that cycle for one family and then it's going to have a ripple effect." According to Gadberry, the overall goal was to provide a way of showing Christ's message through service to others. "We show Christ's love through showing these people mercy," Gadberry said. "Something they don't get a whole lot of. We treat them like normal people, and that gives them a lot of hope." I Senior Hayden Gadberry is giving back to the Searcy community by offering free rides through his nonprofit organization, Vessel, to people who do not have a mode of transportation around the area. Gadberry started providing rides in May 2017 to doctor's appointments, job interviews, parole officer's meetings and work.// By Kazu Fujisawa
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