Volunteer Harding hosted a double-elimination dodgeball tournament Sunday, April 1, to raise money for Jacob’s Place Homeless Mission.
Volunteer Harding is an organization that was started Fall 2011 by senior Milton Stewart, who said he wanted to help White County through creative means. Stewart told several friends throughout last summer about his idea in hopes of recruiting them into making his idea a reality.
“Milton is a very close friend of mine and I just told him I’d be happy to help him however,” said junior Kory Howard, vice president of public relations for Volunteer Harding. “So I just jumped in and started doing some work for him.”
Stewart has been able to take his idea and recruit enough people to make Volunteer Harding exist.
“There’s a core of 16 people [who work for Volunteer Harding],” Stewart said. “They’re dedicated people and that’s all I need.”
Volunteer Harding hosted a basketball tournament last semester to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. The group also made Valentine’s Day cards for the elderly in nursing homes.
“It’s an organization that doesn’t take up too much time,” Stewart said. “If you’re dedicated to wanting to create something to help the community, this is the perfect organization for that person.”
The dodgeball tournament was held in the Ganus Athletic Center and consisted of 10 men’s teams and three women’s teams. The Bulls, which included sophomore Mason Bailey, senior Drew Ater, freshman Brenden Lemrick, sophomore Alex Tebo and junior Eric Ulliman, won by a close call in a triple game for the championship.
Teams paid an entry fee of $10 per team of five people or $3 for singles.
“We raised $200,” Stewart said. “We plan on raising [another] $50 before we meet up with Jacob’s Place.
Volunteer Harding will continue to work for the better of the community.
“There’s so much good that can be done for others, and it’s a great opportunity for outreach,” said junior Allison Musslewhite, executive board member of Volunteer Harding. “There are always people who are in need.”