More than 100 Shorter University students and faculty will take part in the university’s 2^nd annual Hawks on Mission Day this Saturday, March 26.

Students who signed up for the Acts of Service team will be tackling more than a dozen projects across Rome. Assignments will include yard clean-up, house painting, replacing curtains, raking yards, laying pine straw, preparing churches for Easter Sunday, and helping clean up West End Elementary, according to Dr. Brent Baskin, Department Chair of Shorter’s School of Christian Studies.

Shining the light of Christ’s love in our town

“Hawks on Mission Day is an ideal representation of Shorter’s Christ-centered educational experience and our commitment to giving back to the Rome community,” said Shorter University President Dr. Don Dowless. “Rome is a great city, and we are proud to have been part of this community for almost 150 years. This volunteer day is a wonderful opportunity for the Shorter family to put our love of serving into action and to shine the light of Christ’s love right here in our town. Shorter loves helping others move forward.”

Emilee Kelley, an Education major from Cedartown, Ga., is part of the Hawks on Mission Day planning team. She said, “I am so excited for Hawks on Mission, that we get to go out and do service projects and also to go and tell people about Jesus. I love that we’re getting to go out as a community of Shorter and serve the community of Rome that has done so much for us.”

An additional group of volunteers will be doing a prayer walk and encouragement ministry in Downtown Rome. “We know the past couple of years have been difficult for small businesses, and our students want to encourage our local business leaders by praying for them and their employees,” Dr. Baskin said.

Football Players to Serve in Follow-Up Event

Shorter football players will be taking part in a follow-up day of service during the week of April 18. “In a fun turn of events, we set up 100 members of the football team to do a follow-up day since they can’t join in on March 26 because of Spring practice. They will be helping at additional sites and putting the second coat of paint on some of our March 26 projects,” Dr. Baskin said.

Following the 2021 Hawks on Mission Day, then-senior Josiah Dixon summed up the event by saying, “It was an awesome feeling to go out into the community alongside my fellow classmates with the goal of making a difference for Christ. Another great aspect of Hawks on Mission was that it showed students how doable it is to serve your community. We tend to think things like that can be out of reach, but after Hawks on Mission, everyone involved saw how they can be a missionary here in Rome and anywhere they go!”