By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – Just before Thanksgiving, students from YoungLife and WyldLife gathered at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Ocean City to think beyond themselves and to act.
“We are putting together shoeboxes for the ministry, Samaritan’s Purse, for Operation Christmas, and also for Crisis Pregnancy Services in Egg Harbor City to show the love of God to the world locally and globally,” volunteer Ericka Dice said.
The large group of high school students who came together Sunday, Nov. 21, are part of the YoungLife group. The younger students are part of WyldLife, which is for middle school students.
Madison Mack, an Upper Township teacher and Ocean City High School graduate, is a volunteer leader with YoungLife. She explained the organization is national. The Ocean City chapter was filling roughly 100 shoeboxes with items for people in need.
Most of the students were from the high school or Ocean City Intermediate School.
Two high school students who were taking part in the event said they were glad to be helping out because they support YoungLife.
Wesley Dice said he enjoys YoungLife “because it is something to do and I like learning about God.” Brady Oves added YoungLife “is a better way to learn about God. It makes it easier and more fun too.” They are both freshmen are OCHS.
For Mack’s part, she said she has “done this since I was a kid.”
She said the project is valuable because it teaches perspective.
“I think getting ready for the holidays with Thanksgiving, kids tend to skip ahead and think about Christmas and what they’re getting,” she said, “so for them to take some time and think about other kids in other parts of the country or parts of the world and to be able to give back, just gives them reason to be thankful for what they have.”