Katy Labbe, Director of Admissions and Chair of the Centennial 100 Acts of Service Committee, leads the charge in taking action to support missions both locally and abroad. Last week Katy returned from a week-long trip to Cuba. She accompanied her husband and his father, along with her sister-in-law and two friends to provide aide with the non-profit organization Eternal Gospel Ministries. Katy’s father-in-law is a pastor and the founder of the missions group.
Cuba was selected for this trip because Eternal Gospel Ministries works mainly with Latin American countries. Katy has also volunteered in the following areas: Guatemala, Peru, Chile, and also in the United States, but this was her first to Cuba. Katy commented, “Before my trips, I typically gather donations from the States to bring along. This time I gathered some donations from my Harcum co-workers in the Admissions office and also people from my church. I typically volunteer to teach children, hand out food and clothing donations, and work with orphans.”
While in Cuba, the group traveled to six towns and were able to provide clothing, food, and school supplies to people in areas that lack these types of resources. Katy reported, “The people in Cuba really don’t have much - most children don’t even have toys to play with. When the one student won the game we played, her eyes lit up when she saw that she won Hatcher the Bear. She couldn’t believe her eyes!”
As part of Harcum’s Centennial celebration in 2015, we will look to complete a minimum of 100 Acts of Service. If you, your class, family, group, etc. is planning a service project, complete the 100 Acts of Service form online at harcum.edu/serviceproject to qualify your project in our Centennial count. Your service project can be anything you do to help others in the community, as long as you are not being paid. For ideas for service projects, visit, volunteermatch.org/.
