STUDENT LIFE I INTERNATIONAL I SOCIAL CLUBS I ACADEMICS I PEOPLE I LEADERSHIP I ATHLETICS I ORGANIZATIONS PACKING WITH A Over 250,000 meals were packed by students for food pantries, churches and nonprofits. H arding students came together during Club Week 2018 to pack over 250,000 meals for the White County community, helping Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield reach their Fearless Food Fight initiative goal of packing 700,000 meals for Arkansas residents over the course of the year. The Fearless Food Fight campaign, which commemorated the 70th year of Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, was a way for the company to help fight food insecuriry in Arkansas. They partnered with The Pack Shack co work with businesses, schools and organizations to reach their goal and work toward the ultimate goal of ending hunger in Arkansas. Arkansas was the second-leading state for food insecuriry, which inspired senior public relations major Lexi Hoagland, a corporate marketing intern at Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shieldin summer 2018, to host a meal-packing event in the Ganus Activities Complex in partnership with The Pack Shack and Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The event took place on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018, during Club Week and brought social clubs Chi Sigma Alpha, King's Men, Phi Kappa Delta, Chi Kappa Rho, GATA, Regina and student athletes together for a Feed the Funnel event. Dean ofStudent Life Zach Neal helped organize the event and said he never doubted that it would be successful. "Our student body always responds well, especially if it is organized well, and the students involved are very organized," Neal said. "So, I felt good about [the event] from the very beginning." The Harding Pack Shack event brought 600 to 700 students together to pack meals, which yielded a total of 254,800 meals. Hoagland believed that this event was a way for people to be a part ofsomething that was bigger than themselves. "We are called as Christians to love and to serve and The Pack Shack along with Blue Cross has given an incredible opportunity to make a difference within our community and reach outside of the Harding bubble," Hoagland said. Community Outreach Coordinator at Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield Tiffany Webster appreciated the attitude of the volunteers she observed at Harding. "Harding was really near because we asked so many people to come and the fact that so many people actually did was amazing," Webster said. "It speaks volumes to the university; it just shows how big of a heart Harding has.... You took the community of mission statement and gave it life." story by Paden Shelburne Freshman Kristen Lively, junior Grant Dodson and sophomore Derek Nutt work as a group to make a dent in the 254,800 meals being packed on Oct. 24, 2018, in the Ganus Activities Complex. Harding University partnered with Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield and The Pack Shack to host the service eventfor students. I photo by Sterling McMichael Sophomores Antonio Montez and Kayla Stites and senior Zoe Hardin do their part to pack meals as a Club Week service project on Oct. 24, 2018, in the Ganus Activities Complex. During Harding's Pack Shack event Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield met theirgoal ofpacking 700,000 meals over the course ofthe year. I photo by Sterling McMichael Harding alumnus Kurtis Laughlin works as part ofa group performing individual tasks to pack mealsfar those in need on Oct. 24, 2018, in the Ganus Activities Complex. The event brought in student volunteers who workedfor two hours to reach the goal ofpacking 250,000 meals. I photo by Sterling McMichael 57 I CLUB WEEK
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