On the bright morning of Saturday, September 12th, I rose from my cozy grave to start a lengthy day of Service with Stockton. The day began with loud hustle and bustle in the campus center. Pick your team, get some breakfast, find a seat and get started. I was eager to get up and go for the day, but the Day of Service turned out to be very different than I anticipated. Much of the day included information sessions on different organizations that the university works with. They discussed different ways for us to make a larger impact on our community through extensive service projects, and not just picking up trash around campus.
The purple team started their day learning about environmental impacts, conserving water and avoiding plastic bottles, and how to get involved at the Stockton farm. After that, we continued to different areas in the campus center that discussed suicide awareness, gave information about drugs, and gave training on good programs like Green Dot. The day was only half over and already, many people were well educated in different methods to make a difference around the University and other communities. The purple team continued to sort books with Books without Borders, and ended the day with learning about Civic Engagement in the C-D Atrium.
As a whole, the Day of Service was very insightful. Though some feel that more hands-on service would have been better, everyone who attended the Day of Service gained knowledge on how to make a greater impact. For next year, I would argue that it would be more efficient to combine physical activities with the discussion sessions. That way participants can get their toes wet in the different areas and become more motivated to continue projects in the future.