The unique initiative is on the move to help orphans, visiting 25 campuses this spring throughout the southeast. The tour provides students an opportunity to give and buy clothes on the red double-decker bus to raise funds that will help provide orphans with forever families.

"Students are capable of far more than people give them credit for," explained Chris Wheeler, Director of Student Initiatives at Show Hope. "We wanted to create a simple way for college students to become aware of the plight of more than 140 million orphans who have lost one or both parents, and to go from awareness to taking action. Not all students have money but lots of them have stuff they can donate. A big red double-decker bus cuts through the noise on campus and provides a fun thrift store shopping experience for students, all for a good cause."

In its first five stops, college students have already purchased over $5,000 worth of thrift store clothes on the bus and have donated hundreds more articles of clothing to continue raising funds for orphans. Each day of the tour, the bus is stationed in high traffic areas at various college campuses throughout Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and Alabama, and folks of every age are welcome to visit the bus, buy and donate clothes, all helping to raise awareness and funds for orphans around the world.

In the evening, an outdoor concert featuring Franklin, TN indie band CALEB, attracts crowds that are directed to the bus for shopping after the concert. Lead singer Caleb Chapman (son of musical artist Steven Curtis Chapman) played a key role in creating the Red Bus Project. "This was a crazy idea that became a reality, and I'm so excited to see the Red Bus Project actually happening!" said Chapman. "To see hundreds of college students getting excited about helping orphans is a dream come true."

Through an aggressive promotional and social media program, Show Hope's Red Bus Project is able to attract crowds on every campus and continue student engagement long after the bus has left.

"Our goal is not to just swoop on to a campus, have a fun event, then leave and never be heard from again," comments Wheeler. "We have a very intentional strategy in place to move students progressively towards deeper and deeper engagement in a lifestyle of orphan care. We are asking them 'What is your Red Bus?' - a metaphor for specific actions they will take to help the plight of the orphan."

"We've been thrilled by the response so far," said Scott Hasenbalg, Show Hope's Executive Director. "Students are really responding to this 'out of the box' way of helping care for orphans, and we are very impressed by the heart and passion these students have shown for the movement to care for orphans."

(CALEB)

Show Hope's Red Bus Project will also be at the following college campuses:

MARCH
20 - Campbellsville University, Campbellsville, KY
21 - Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY
22 - Lindsey Wilson College, Columbia, KY
23 - Trevecca Nazarene University, Nashville, TN
26 - University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
27 - Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN
28 - University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
29 - Carson-Newman College, Jefferson City, TN
30 - Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, GA

APRIL
02 - Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
03 - Union University, Jackson, TN
04 - Bethel University, McKenzie, TN
05 - University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
09 - Belmont University, Nashville, TN
10 - University of Montevallo, Montevallo, AL
11 - University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
12 - Samford University, Birmingham, AL
13 - Auburn University, Auburn, AL
16 - University of Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN

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