Dec. 6, 2011
For Immediate Release

By Christina L. Kern, office assistant

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky.— Campbellsville University students, faculty, alumni and friends will travel to Arlington, Texas and Haiti for mission trips during Christmas break.

In Arlington, Texas, six students will work in Mission Arlington's Christmas Store, a ministry that gives out Christmas present to families for their children, free of charge.

Most of the families assisted through the Christmas Store have been working people who simply could not absorb the extra expense during the holidays.

Students will help families shop in the Christmas Store for gifts for their children to open Christmas morning. Everyone who goes to the store is also told the Christmas story, both in English and Spanish, so they have the opportunity to hear about God's love and then see it through the gifts they are receiving.

Campbellsville University students, faculty, alumni and friends of the School of Nursing are also traveling to Haiti for a medical mission trip. The group went to Haiti last Christmas for a medical mission trip, and plans to go back this year to a different area.

Angie Atwood, instructor in nursing who is leading the trip, said the group plans on bringing more food to give out. “Last year I felt like I had to sneak food for myself because the people there were hungry, too,” Atwood said.
The School of Nursing will bring food and flip-flops to give out to those in need in Haiti. Atwood said, “We not only want to meet their medical and spiritual needs, but also meet their physical needs.”

The group will have four days of medical clinic. They saw 1,800 patients last year and hope to see even more this year. Because there is no board of nursing in Haiti, the students are allowed to do more than in the U.S., but typically they give out medications, injections and help those who may have vitamin deficiencies.

Prior to receiving medical care, patients visit a prayer station. Atwood said last year “some people were ready to leave before they received medical care because some came for spiritual healing.”

Those traveling to Arlington, Texas include: Haley Probus, a sophomore from Lebanon, Ky.; Ashley Buchanan, a junior from Louisville, Ky.; Olivia Murphy, a freshman from Mt. Sterling, Ky.; Kayla Howard, a freshman from Frankfort, Ky.; Ronald Mink, a freshman from Liberty, Ky.; and Jericho McCoy, a junior from Campbellsville, Ky.

Those traveling to Haiti include: Paula Grant, a senior from Lebanon, Ky.; Tiffany Montgomery, a senior from Lebanon, Ky.; Tom Reiss, a friend of CU from Louisville, Ky.; Ken Bolin, a missionary and 1981 CU graduate from Manchester, Ky.; Sarah Fletcher, a sophomore from Russell Springs, Ky.; Debra Simpson, a junior from Russell Springs, Ky.; Laura Middlecamp, a nurse from Elizabethtown, Ky.; Torri Daffron, a senior in high school from Campbellsville, Ky.;

Dustin Ford, a senior from Campbellsville, Ky.; Andrew Gilbert, a senior in high school from Campbellsville, Ky.; Linda Gribbins, instructor in nursing from Campbellsville, Ky.; Norman Gribbins, a 1987 graduate of CU and husband of Linda from Campbellsville, Ky.; Erin Martin, a junior from Campbellsville, Ky.; MaKayla McCloud, a sophomore from Campbellsville, Ky.; Donovan Pittman, a freshman from Campbellsville, Ky.; Keely Rash, a senior from Campbellsville, Ky.;

Laura Williams, a sophomore from Campbellsville, Ky.; Mary Wise, a senior from Campbellsville, Ky.; Jackie Young, adjunct instructor in nursing from Campbellsville, Ky.; Brittni Corbin, a junior from Columbia, Ky.; Angie Atwood, instructor in nursing from Greensburg, Ky.; Chelsea Jeffries, a junior from Greensburg, Ky.; Hannah White, a junior from Hodgenville, Ky.; Mary Chris Denison, a sophomore from Horse Cave, Ky.; Kayla Bradshaw, a junior from Summersville, Ky.; and Courtney Keller, a junior from Angola, Ind.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,500 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master's degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.