Every year, the Convoy of Hope visits hundreds of towns spanning 46 states and 109 countries to provide food and other human services to the less fortunate. This year the Convoy of Hope hit the Fresno Fairgrounds in west Fresno, Nov. 23.

The first Convoy was held in 1994, and since then, over 62 million people have been served, with $304 million of resources distributed. This year, the churches of NorthPointe Community, Peoples and Cornerstone joined together to bring the Convoy of Hope to Fresno.

In an effort to help set up for the event that would help out 15,000 locals, FC’s Campus Pastor, Robert Foshee, worked together with Peoples Church to send a group of FC students to the fairgrounds to help set up.

Roughly 70 students made the trip; they worked along other volunteers from the community for about two hours to pack 10,000 bags of tangerines, persimmons and lettuce.

Freshman Amber Wilson reflects on the event as a positive experience, since she got to impact the community on her trip.

“This seemed like a good opportunity to help people,” Wilson said. “Looking back, afterwards I felt like I had helped a lot, which is a really good feeling.”

This trip was one of the many ways in which FC encourages students to reach out in their community.

Sophomore Brittany Bender felt like she became closer to her fellow classmates while working.

“I came out to help bag food for people,” Bender said. “It was really fun. The best part was getting to spend time and bond with everyone else there.”

The general consensus among students was that after trying out community, they really enjoyed the chance to help others and make a difference in their world.

Although junior Jonathan Brushwood was required to go on the trip, he was glad to be there.

“I had to go on the trip because I?m in leadership,” Brushwood said. “The best part was realizing that the work we were doing was going to impact 15,000 people. Even though it was a lot of work, in the back of my mind I knew that we were doing this for others, which made the work worth it.”

Senior Zack Jakusz signed up to help out, and enjoyed spending time with his friends and bonding through the experience.

“I came to get out of school,” Jakusz said. “It was cool though. We got to hang out with people. The best part was the taco truck afterward.”

Free hair cuts, health services, lunch, group prayer, live entertainment, a job fair, family photos and clothing distribution were some of the services that went along with the distribution of food during Saturday.

For more information, see the Fresno Convoy of Hope website.

This writer can be reached via Twitter @Grossman_Chris.