Handing out 800 “Jesus Dogs” within four hours is quite a feat.

Ensuring that students who were out and about on St. Patrick’s Day arrived home or to their next destination safely was an even larger undertaking.

And all of this was free.

“The purpose is to get people home safely,” said Rockford alumnus Tony Boscarino, assistant campus minister at His House Christian Fellowship, 211 West Broomfield Road.

A Late Night

The last of the six vans arrived safely at the church 3 a.m. Sunday to end the rides for the night.

More than 600 rides were given in a six-hour span.

Vestaburg alumna Ashley Patton was a passenger on the last van. Throughout the night, she befriended many of the passengers, lending her bible to one who wanted to read the book of Psalms.

“And that’s why I do this,” she said.

Origins

For the past four years, His House has provided safe transportation and food to students who celebrate the Irish holiday.

The idea stemmed from an annual mission trip the church takes to Panama City, Fla. for spring break. Trip participants spent their week providing rides every evening for the partying spring breakers.

“I watched God work in the lives of students (down there),” Boscarino said. “I know He was the same God in Mount Pleasant as in Panama, so we’re doing it here.”

Helping Hands

While some organizations have difficulty finding volunteers, His House had to turn them away this year.

“When you ask for volunteers, everyone wants to help,” said Essexville alumni Dan Poll. “Sometimes there’s just too much, and we have to either turn them away, or find something they can do.”

More than 150 members of the church volunteered to feed, drive, pray with or help those in need of assistance while celebrating the holiday.

The church arranged the volunteers to ensure their safety and the safety of those they would interact with throughout the night.

Lansing Community College junior Andrew McKone said the group’s main concern were the people who could possibly get a little out of hand.

“We’ve had some instances where people have been in a state that some of our volunteers have trouble handling,” he said. “When that happens, they come back here (to the church) to recoup.”

Dog-Gone

The church’s men’s house on Main Street provided free hot dogs, known as “Jesus Dogs,” to those who wanted them.

Royal Oak senior Grant Newman has volunteered making “Jesus Dogs” his past five semesters at CMU.

“Hot dogs on the corner of Main Street with all the (fraternities) is perfect,” Newman said. “We want our place to be someplace safe, someplace to go, even a bathroom if they need it.”

While hot dogs were grilled on Main Street, the Broomfield church location provided a prayer blog, prayers and painting or writing on paper either as a stress relief or picture of inspiration. The hot dogs ran out at midnight, leaving hungry passengers disappointed.

news@cm-life.com

E-mail the author: defaultuser