Tennessee Students Serve Children and Defy Stereotypes

You’ve probably heard it before. Poor college students can’t really make a difference. Finish your degree, get work experience, and then you’ll be in a position to have an impact. Rachel Landry, a 21-year-old senior at Tennessee’s Milligan College, had heard that voice of skepticism, too. She just wasn’t buying it.

That’s why, in 2009 and 2010, Rachel and her classmates found time away from their textbooks to spearhead Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree^® program for two nearby counties. They have made a radical difference in the lives of local children through the personal delivery of gifts and the Gospel, given on behalf of their parents behind bars.

Rachel enrolled in Milligan College, a small, Christian, liberal arts university nestled in the mountains east of Johnson City, to study pediatric nursing. During her junior year, while a student leader for Fellowship of Christian Athletes, she inherited responsibility for the Angel Tree program at Milligan from a campus minister. She and other students labored together to coordinate the campus’s Angel Tree efforts, presenting the program to the student body as a service opportunity.

“It’s unusual for a college to take it on, so it was different for students to handle it,” says Rachel, noting that churches—not universities—usually take the helm of Angel Tree outreach. But undeterred, they forged ahead.

Meeting the Challenge

But in 2010, instead of scaling back their efforts, Rachel and the Milligan student body reached even higher. They added neighboring Washington County, challenging themselves to deliver love and hope to 108 children in need.

“[The students] totally stepped up,” says Rachel. “It was exciting to see them defy the typical picture that we’re just poor college students and couldn’t do anything.”

To meet their ambitious goal, Rachel and a committed corps of student volunteers started working in October. Using contact information provided by Prison Fellowship, they made initial phone calls to local Angel Tree families to verify gifts that would be appropriate for the children’s respective ages, genders, and interests. In early November, they made a presentation about Angel Tree to the campus during a morning chapel service, using videos produced by students majoring in communications. Afterwards they stationed themselves outside the main cafeteria, where students took Angel Tree tags from a Christmas tree, each tag representing a child in need of love at Christmas. Students who could not afford to sponsor a child on their own teamed up with their friends and classmates. Just before Christmas break, students shopped for gifts, wrapped them, and delivered them to children’s homes. All 108 children were served.

Bursting the Bubble

“It’s something we can do before we go home [for Christmas break],” she explains. “We can affect the families during the holidays. Practically, it’s a good way for students to be involved.”

Students also savor the opportunity for personal interaction with prisoners’ families—a group frequently ostracized, overlooked, and underserved by society at large.

“In college you can get caught up in the bubble that’s your campus. It’s good to be involved in the community, in that city where we live every day, spending time with these people. Students buy into taking on that personal connection and getting to shop and deliver that gift.”

A group of male students delivered gifts to twin boys. The twins’ caregiver asked the students to come inside, and the students invited the twins to attend basketball games at Milligan. The boys showed up for games, and a one-time gift delivery has evolved into a larger opportunity.

Investigate the Opportunities

Because of her love for the project, she is looking around for someone to fill her shoes at Milligan after graduation, and she encourages students at other universities to start their own Angel Tree projects. Though Angel Tree can consume a lot of hours, delegation and teamwork have made it a success at Milligan. Prison Fellowship staff, campus faculty, and campus ministers can also help get the program off the ground.

In a world that often tells students they can make a difference “later,” Prison Fellowship offers students opportunities right now, through Angel Tree and other low-barrier options.