Hillsdale College GOAL Program teams up with Love INC

Hillsdale College’s Great Opportunities for Assistance and Leadership (GOAL) program, which coordinates volunteer opportunities between members of the student body and various nonprofit organizations in Hillsdale County, has paired with Love INC.

Love INC is an organization committed to helping community members with material, emotional, or relationship poverty transform their lives. Love INC, which stands for “Love in the name of Christ,” is a national organization that works with churches to help those in need. A local branch of the non-profit organization started in Hillsdale in 2018.

Hillsdale’s Love INC, run by Jessica Hurley-Fawley, reaches out to agencies in the community to identify individuals who need assistance. The program works with local churches to give those individuals the necessary resources to live better. Hillsdale College’s GOAL program plays a role in finding the necessary resources.

“The resources each candidate needs can differ quite a bit,” said Zack Niebolt, ’22. “Some people need money or clothes; it all depends on their current situations. We often are looking to find spiritual counseling, budgeting counseling, and marital counseling for those who can benefit from it.”

Student volunteers also conduct introductory interviews with potential candidates for the program. “We work tirelessly to find the resources from the churches, and we are always looking for more churches to work with,” said Niebolt.

Love INC and its 13 Hillsdale College student volunteers do additional work aside from working with local churches such as College Baptist, St. Anthony’s, The HUB, and more. Once a month, volunteers help coordinate a warehouse sale. Items for sale include furniture, small appliances, and home décor. Volunteers help organize the sale, its setup, and the pricing of items. Love INC uses the proceeds to ensure it can continue transforming the lives of its clients.

The program hopes to build on its church base so that it can support a greater volume of clients while also encouraging its clients to utilize its mentoring services.

“Many simply choose not to use them,” said Niebolt, “but by better explaining the benefits of our mentoring and counseling services, we hope that more clients will utilize them and realize their value.”

Niebolt explained how Hillsdale’s Love INC gives Hillsdale College students the opportunity to make a real difference.

“Love INC offers the opportunity to engage with the people in our Hillsdale community who are in the direst need, the ability to form meaningful relationships with them and provide often life-changing help,” he said. “Volunteering with Love INC allows students to help people who are about to lose their home, lose custody of their children, or save a marriage, making an especially profound impact on the community.”

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hillsdale College GOAL program pairs with Love INC