Asheville Pisgah On a Mission

Asheville Pisgah Youth Reach Outside of School Walls to Help Others At Asheville Pisgah Christian School, a goal for this school year was for each student to participate in an ongoing service project that stretched the students beyond their walls and out into community. Led by

teachers Charlie Rennard and Steven Green, each class decided on a project to plan and put into action.

Recently, teacher Danny Collins and the 7th and 8th graders served at Babies Need Bottoms (BNB). As the only diaper bank in Western North Carolina, this non-profit company partners with social services, family financial aid, and families with young children to meet a critical need in ensuring families have enough diapers. Their representative, Megan, shared with our students that some families must choose whether to buy diapers or dinner. They have to ask,

“Do I get this medication and forfeit having new diapers?” The average shortfall per family is 25 diapers a month.

Babies Need Bottoms distributes 300,000 diapers annually, making a marked difference for those families in need. They collect donated diapers and repackage them in sets of 25 for distribution. Students gained first-hand experience on November 11 as they collected diapers, opened large packages of diapers and rewrapped them for distribution. Steven Green and his wife, Emily, have been volunteering with BNB for several years. Megan sent this letter to Steven after her morning with APCS.

Hi Steven,

Thank you so much for allowing me to join your school community for the morning and for service! I was very impressed with your students and their hard work. They were wonderful

to work with and their efforts will make a really big contribution to WNC families.

Your school community donated a generous 1,293 diapers! Those diapers alone will serve more than 68 babies. And you all wrapped more than 21 boxes of Pull Ups! It is great to have those diapers wrapped and ready to go in our warehouse.

We look forward to future opportunities to collaborate for service learning and/or diaper wrapping. We appreciate the warm welcome from your school.

In addition, on November 12, APCS hosted a service sharing chapel. Each class had representatives give presentations on what they are doing to serve. Chapel participants heard about letters to Covid patients, gifts for community children, and a school-wide recycling campaign. The student’s testimonies were inspiring to fellow students and teachers alike.

—by Erin Miller