Home Away From Home United Methodist Churches in Magnolia Have Worked to Make Students Feel Comfortable at SAU
College students gather for fellowship with a local United Methodist Church in Magnolia. The program pairs college students at SAU with adults in the area who can keep up with the students while they attend school and assist them with basic needs like meals and transportation. || Photo provided by Dan Read
By Sam Pierce Featured Contributor,
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@sjamespierce
n 2017, in a span of about two weeks, two students at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia committed suicide on campus. In response to the tragedy, Dan Read, the pastor at Greers Chapel United Methodist Church, began a program to pair college students with local families. “I know what it is like to move far from home and not know anyone in your new environment,” Read said. “So we sent out a school-wide email to all students to let them know about this program and while they are here at Magnolia, we had mentors that would be here for them too.” He said he quickly realized it was more than what his small church could handle. He said in the first year, there were 20 students wanting to take part, but he only had 12 sponsor families. Other churches have joined the program, including Emerson United Methodist and Magnolia First United Methodist. “Having someone to turn to, outside the college, and knows the area, especially in the case of international students, and knows the culture here in south Arkansas, has been extremely 11
beneficial,” Read said. “I know that some of my host families have done everything from taking students out to eat, letting them do laundry at their house and helping them with transportation to and from school.” He said the main goal of the program is to build relationships between sponsor families and the students. He said most communicate about once a month in person or through emails and phone calls. “I know that I was unique and when I went to churches, I looked and asked for a mentor,” Read said. “Students don’t really go to churches and ask for help. I thought we could offer that kind of help to them. “That email that was sent out to every student, it was crucial. I am excited to see it continue to grow over the years.” David Spradlin, who is on the board of the Wesley Foundation at SAU, was initially hesitant in adopting a college student. “I told (Dan), I had so much going on, that he needed to leave me out of this program,” Spradlin said. However, when the need for foster families was not being met, Spradlin said he reluctantly joined and adopted two students last year. He enjoyed it so much, he took on six this year.
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