The Fellowship of Christian Athletes and their advisor, Karen Nipps, display care packages funded with proceeds from the club’s bake sale.
When the Haddonfield Memorial High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes Club (FCA) restarted last year after a years-long hiatus, students asked Karen Nipps, lead school secretary and a club advisor last year, about again serving the community.
“Although this is not a specific service club, we believe that all clubs should have a service element to them, so we discussed as a group some options,” Nipps recounted, “and last year, we held our first annual bake sale to raise money to purchase Christmas gifts for students in need.”
The athletes did not stop there. This year’s sale proceeds went to another good cause, care packages for Camden-area homeless individuals, a decision made after a club vote. Brandon Stoner is one of the club’s student leaders.
“Back in March, we did a lesson on serving others,” he noted, “and that led us to brainstorm ways that we could help others in the community. Although there were many good options, we ultimately decided to raise money to make care packages …”
The bake sale raised $200 that paid for 20 packages, each of which includes a toothbrush and toothpaste, lip balm, soap, socks, a hairbrush and comb, deodorant, hand sanitizer, nail clippers, body wash or shampoo, a Bible and a handwritten note from one of the students. They will be distributed by Seeds of Hope Ministries, a Christian nonprofit in Camden that serves those struggling with addiction, ex-offenders and the homeless.
Caroline Barker is the current senior leader of the athletes club.
“This year, our FCA group was small and close-knit,” she revealed. “Although this made it difficult when organizing bigger events, our closeness and ability to have in-depth conversations about ways we could help our community prompted us to raise money for homeless care packages.”
People volunteered to bake sale treats, sell them and assemble the packages. Word spread through Canvas, the platform for school-wide communication, as well as by word of mouth.
“On the days of the bake sale,” Barker recalled, “we got to school 30 minutes early to set up and caught people on their way into class.”
The sale was set up outside the high school on pre-approved days, with members of the club at a table. Barker said it was her favorite part of the process.
“On both days, I got to sit outside with other members of FCA, and even though it was freezing, I remember we had so much fun talking to people on their way into school,” she remembered.
Stoner preferred the work of putting the packages together.
“It was awesome to have something that we had put so much into finally come to fruition and be able to help others,” he said.
The athletes club plans to continue its work in the community. At Christmas, members will raise money for families in need to purchase gifts for the holiday. They also hope to create more packages or something similar to raise funds next year.
“Serving others is an important part of our faith,” Stoner pointed out, “and we would like to emphasize that and get as many people involved as possible.”
