On September 12th, a great many students were in for a surprise.  They came thinking that the event was going be a bunch of hands on service projects, but instead it was something much more valuable.  As the students arrived, they were first greeted with bagels, muffins, and coffee, which is always a good way to make a first impression.  Then the students went into the event room where they listened to the opening remarks of the keynote speaker, Todd Bernstein.  He enlightened our minds as to what we can achieve through service learning and the kind of impact that we can make.  After the keynote speaker was finished, the students were divided into various color groups and went on to do many different service learning projects.

One of these projects was to help students become politically knowledgeable.  One project involved writing a letter to the Governor regarding issues the students care about, and another allowed students to register to vote.  Also in this section, students could debate whether or not they thought the death penalty was just.  At a second section of the event was where students could learn about the Books without Borders group.   Here students aided in packing textbooks to give out to other students who do not have enough money to afford the books themselves.  Another section showed students what the Atlantic City Rescue Mission does for the homeless population across New Jersey.  Students could help make food, tote bags, or birthday cards for the homeless and learned more about the statistics of homeless people in the state.  To some, this particular section was a real eye opener.  The last section of the day was about Stockton’s “green dot” program.  Students learned about what the difference is between a red dot and a green dot, and also learned how to help make the campus more safe and reduce violence.

At the end of the Day of Service, there was a large reflection session.  During this session all the students discussed what the impact was on them from what they learned that day.  They also discussed how they could help now, and in the future with the new knowledge that they had learned.  Many students enjoyed the Day of Service and took away from it many valuable lessons and ideas.  Hopefully because of this event, many more students will get involved in a lot more meaningful service projects and begin to make their own impact on others.