While students are busy studying for exams, maintaining a clean environment on campus can easily become less of a priority. For this reason, the World Mission Society Church of God held a campus cleanup at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. On January 30, young adult volunteers from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland teamed up to remove litter from around the campus. In doing so they were able to deliver God’s love to the students, staff and faculty of Temple University.

The cleanup was in conjunction with the Church of God’s 3,494th Worldwide Cleanup Campaign. This is a global initiative created to help stabilize the environments of over 175 countries where the Church of God is located. Temple University has an enrollment of 40,000 students. Furthermore, of its 300,000 alumni worldwide, over a dozen are Church of God members.

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Church of God volunteers were more than happy to brighten up the Temple University campus.

Volunteers gathered at Temple University’s historic bell tower located in the heart of campus. Equipped with bags, brooms, shovels, and gloves, they quickly spread out to the areas with the most student traffic. In no time, they began filling bags with excess litter from the streets. Even some Temple University students took time out of their busy schedules to join in the campus cleanup.

Many students and faculty members expressed their appreciation for the work done by the Church of God volunteers. They didn’t expect to see a group of so many young individuals take the initiative for environmental sustainability. Nevertheless, people offered words of encouragement and praise while passing by. And despite cold temperatures and some snowfall, the volunteers continued cleaning up the campus.

“You always see people littering. You almost become used to it, like its normal,” said one of the students helping with the cleanup. “Sometimes you want to do something about it but it’s hard to do alone. I’m glad you guys came today.”

The Church of God will continue its program to promote healthy and sustainable college campuses across the country. Ultimately, the volunteers would like to bring about a positive impact so other college students can follow suit.

 

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