NEW OXFORD, Pa. – Shippensburg University student-athletes, cheerleaders and mascot Big Red took time out in December to visit Cross Keys Village – The Brethren Home Community, providing the residents with holiday cards and candy canes and the singing of Christmas carols during the holiday season.

The group went on December 7, 2011, as part of a community engagement initiative. Chris Strausbaugh – the student under the guise of Big Red – was very appreciative of the visit, as his mother, Amy, is a resident at Cross Keys Village.

“Everyone enjoyed the cards and candy, the singing and the smiles,” said Frank Buhrman, the community's director of Communication and Public Relations, “whether or not they realized that the bird was the son of a fellow resident.”

Founded in 1908, Cross Keys Village – The Brethren Home Community has 270 long-term residents and short-term guests in nursing. The community typically has more than 1,000 people volunteer each year, individually or in groups, who contribute more than 80,000 hours of their time, Buhrman said.

The energy of the Shippensburg student-athletes was palpable, as it helped propel the community's residents into the holiday spirit.

“Even those residents who have regular visitors can get lonely,” said Buhrman. “So especially at Christmas this kind of group is really welcomed, and it's all the better if the visitors are enthusiastic young people.”