As underprivileged Searcy residents continue to reach for help, The Rock House Ministries is seeking to connect Harding students with the larger impoverished and hurting communities of Searcy. Specifically, The Rock House is building connections through the Rock Mentoring Program and the Christians in Action Campaign (CIA).

According to junior Rachael Koch, Rock House intern and coordinator of the Rock Mentoring Program, said the program serves as an opportunity for students to invest in the lives of young students in the Searcy community. The mentoring program takes place at the Carmichael Community Center every Tuesday and Thursday until Thanksgiving break from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

“Rock Mentoring is a great way to do outreach in the community to kids,” Koch said. “These are kids who struggle with things and have rough home lives, so it’s a safe place for them to come and be. They really enjoy getting to know and meet college students and hang out with them.”

The program assists students from kindergarten to eighth grade with their homework, provides a snack at the beginning of each session and organizes activities and games for the mentors and kids to enjoy together.

“There’s a million non-profits in this town, but there’s no Boys and Girls Club, there’s no “Y”, there’s hardly any afterschool care—there’s nothing like that,” Todd Gentry, Rock House director, said. “We know that we’ve helped stop fights and we know that kids have done better and been more successful in school. All the counselors and principals in town are sending kids to us because they think it’s very worthwhile.”

The CIA is filling a different need in the Searcy community. Christians in Action seeks to involve Harding students with the project-based needs of Searcy residents.

“We probably get about 12 calls a week to do service projects, and we fill three to five of those projects a week,” Gentry said. “A lot of it is for widows, some of it is for orphans or humanitarian aid. It is a way that we can put students in the best position to do good things in this community.”

Junior Michaela Isenberg, Rock House intern over the Christians in Action Campaign, organizes the projects that are called in and delegates the task of completing projects to student volunteers. All students are welcome to volunteer by calling the Rock House and asking for a project.

“It’s a really great way for you to get involved and to be a leader,” Isenberg said. “Once you claim a project, you become a leader of that project. It’s really great for learning leadership qualities, but also for getting involved with the community and helping others who need it.”

Isenberg equated CIA as an ongoing extension of Bisons for Christ. It provides students with weekly opportunities to serve the Searcy community.

“I feel like community service is an idea that sounds appealing to a lot of people up until the moment when they’re asked to do the project,” Isenberg said. “Especially when you’re dealing with volunteers, they think they have something better to do, but I would say that’s not true. Trust me, when you get there and do the project, you’re going to be rewarded.”

The Rock House is providing Harding students with no shortage of opportunities for service in the Searcy community. Call or visit the Rock House to get involved in Rock Mentoring or CIA and for more information regarding these ministries.