Tag Archives: service

Seize the Day: Day of Service

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On September 9, 2017,  my four roommates laid comfortably in bed as I readied myself for the day, knowing that what I was about to embark on was even more blissful than sleep.

The Stockton Day of Service is an annual event that demonstrates the importance of service. Over 450 volunteers came out to “exit [their] comfort zones,” as put by Stockton’s Associate Provost. My group of 40, so designated by our red-colored name tags, were promised an hour in each project, hoping that one would be the “launch pad” for a commitment to service. We first headed to work in civic engagement with the Service Learning Department. Activities included taking a Naturalization Test and publicly displaying our political opinion. When we “voted with our feet,” I spoke on the issue of free college tuition. I left the event confident in having spoken for what I stand for. With Circle K, we were able to help the local community. We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the A.C. Rescue Mission. We were guaranteed that the sandwiches are “appreciated,” even when imperfect. It was uplifting to help the my local community. In the afternoon, we learned about Cerebral Palsy with Alpha Lambda Delta. There, we constructed ribbons for the cause. Having had a cousin with Cerebral Palsy, I was particularly engaged in this activity. The final event of the day was to help end world hunger. Our group personally packed 10,000 meals, rounding out the 45,000 meals made that day for those suffering from starvation.

The Day of Service turned out to be the best way to spend my Saturday. I cannot wait for next year!

Serving the Community

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As many of you may already know, Stockton recently held it’s 10th annual Day of Service.  I, like many others, attended.  Being a freshman and not having any sort of idea what was going on made the whole process slightly confusing.  I completely forgot that I had pre-registered, so when I walked in the door and saw a huge line of people I was, at the very least, confused.  Asking around, only a few people realized that they were in fact standing in line for a reason.  When I asked why we were in line, most people just looked at me and shrugged.

After getting my sheet of paper and “signing in,” we were all off to breakfast! Yay breakfast! There was such a lovely array of scrumptious foods that I didn’t really know what to pick.  But that’s beside the point.  Once breakfast was finished, all of us service people traveled up to the event room and started to find groups which we were interested in devoting our day to.  We tried to find groups who were doing things that were fun or high up on our list of okay things to do in life rather than at the top of our hate list.

I decided to work with the Covenant House service group for the day.  The description of our activities soon to come included but was certainly not limited to yard work.  Once I read the sign in which the description was posted, I cringed slightly inside.  Yard work is definitely not something I love to do.  So, I was fairly skeptical but I mean really, how much yard work can anybody actually do in Atlantic City?  Where is there yard to work on there anyway?  So I sat down and waited to start the journey.

After we got to Covenant House, we put all of our stuff down and the woman in charge of volunteer work gave us an overview of what Covenant House stands for and why they do what they do.  Basically they take in 18 to 21-year-old men and women who came from a bad place or don’t exactly have the best past and give them the opportunity to become educated and get their lives back on track.  Everything is free for the men and women who stay there; all that is asked of these men and women is that they become what they want to become.  After she finished giving us this message, she sent us to work.

We went out to the courtyard with shovels, rakes, gloves, mulch, and garbage bags and picked up all of the trash that was lying around and under the bushed and then we laid down mulch to make the area look nicer. Then we weeded the gardens around the perimeter so that there were only flowers and shrubs left.  Once we finished that we moved dirt from a flower tier that had started to fall apart into four others to fill the four other tiers and take down the one that was starting to fall apart.  After we finished, we ate our lunch and had a reflection session where we talked about what our service means to others and why it’s such a nice thing to do.

We concluded the day with a walk on the boardwalk in search of other service groups in need of assistance.  We came across two other groups but they didn’t really need our help.  So we drove back to Stockton and that concluded the 10th annual Day of Service at Stockton.

Things Hurricane Sandy has Taught Me

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Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, and while we all may salivate at the thought of mashed potatoes and turkey legs piled five feet high, many students will return to Stockton and scatter to tie up any lose ends of their fall semester. Finals will begin, underclassmen and upperclassmen alike cramming to complete late night study sessions. The majority will turn to the espresso at the Bean’s List to roll out of bed in the morning and truck through their final exams. Frankly, in the life of college students, finals season isn’t really much to be thankful for. But I implore that the students of Stockton take this time of thanks giving to reflect on the many gifts life has to offer.

Hurricane Sandy has taught me many things. It has taught me that, in times of great need and despair, humanity is truly caring. Just recently, a woman from Barnes and Noble’s customer service took the time to ask me how my family was fairing even as I was yelling at her from the other line of the phone. She saw that our college was in an area affected by Hurricane Sandy and wanted to make sure we were all okay. It was at that moment that I realized that I’ve been worrying about the less important things in life. Rather than make a scene that my The Perks of Being a Wallflower novel was sent to a man named George in Monroe Township(and NOT me), I’m thankful that this woman took the time to show her concern for the areas of New Jersey ravished by Hurricane Sandy. I am thankful that my family is safe and my home is intact. I am thankful that we still have a college to take those dreadful finals in.

Stockton has truly risen to its full potential in this time of need. Clothing and food drives have taken place, and Dean Pedro Santana has offered his compassion and commitment to students who have experienced devastating loss. Clubs like Water Watch have devoted their time to help residents of the barrier islands and surrounding areas pick up the pieces and rebuild their communities. Katherine Austin, a fellow Honors student, has initiated a t-shirt sale in which all proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross. Perhaps Stockton is so involved because this devastation hits so close to home-outside of our windows, down the street, maybe even our own homes. But I would like to think that our community would care even if this hurricane were in the Gulf of Mexico or on the coast of California. The Stockton family is composed of some of the most caring, compassionate, and devoted human beings that I have ever met; Hurricane Sandy has opened my eyes to this.

I am thankful to spend this upcoming season with my family. I am thankful for my home, my friends, and my church community. I am thankful for the students and faculty at Stockton who have stepped up in this time of devastation and reminded me that humanity is truly good. These are the things Hurricane Sandy has taught me.

 

MLK Day of Service

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Bright and early at 8 am on January 18, 2016, the Stockton community joined with local volunteers to celebrate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Being a commuter that lives in Galloway, I have attended the MLK Day of Service four consecutive years prior but I was excited to take part in it this time as a student of Stockton. I went with a few of my girlfriends. Once we signed in we headed towards breakfast at the food court. Stockton provided a delicious breakfast with an awesome array of options from donuts to various breakfast sandwiches to coffee, orange juice, and tea. I always like to comment on food (if you have read my previous blogs) because the food at Stockton is unmatchable to some other universities I have visited and I always want to pay tribute and show appreciation towards the staff.

After breakfast we were directed to go to the campus center event room. I was actually taken aback by how good of a turnout there was; there were so many people that the chairs were not enough and many had to stand to the side or towards the back. It is always very encouraging seeing people, especially my peers, show up eager for a cause, this one being to spread service and pay tribute to the life and impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The events that followed included: several speakers, honoring members of the community for their service, singing, and informing people of the different projects and locations. I loved the singing which was led by Mrs. Beverly. She always brings an outburst of energy that spreads throughout the entire room. Along with at least 200 other people, I sang “We Shall Overcome” and really took in the words, using them as motivation and energy fuel to get through the rest of the long day ahead.

There was en extremely wide range of projects to choose from, both on campus and off-campus. I don’t quite remember them at the moment but they were all awesome. I decided to stay on campus and work with Circle K creating some cool crafts for people at Atlanticare Hospital. I spent most of my time sewing large heart shaped pillows for older patients and those who are going into same day surgery. I made sure to put as much care into the pillows because I know they definitely make a difference and have calming powers. Other people worked on creating little sock babies for infants in the hospital. The idea behind them is that parents carry the sock babies around with them and when they leave the child will have the sock baby and be able to smell their parents and be comforted. Valentines day cards were also being made and I think they were dedicated to the troops.

After making crafts, we all received a lunch package then moved on to an informative portion of the day. The lesson we learned was on the being a bystander. The bystander effect is a psych term that describes what happens when people in passing see something bad happening to someone but do not help because they assume someone else will help or that is not their responsibility. This little workshop was designed to make people aware of the bystander effect and to stand up in situations where a victim needs help. Something I remember from the lesson was “The 5 Step Decision Making Model” which goes as such:

  1. Notice the Event
  2. Interpret it as a Problem
  3. Assume Personal Responsibility
  4. Know How to Help
  5. Step Up!

With this, I feel more equip to provide help in times of need.

Following the lesson on the bystander effect as a reflection session pertaining to the MLK Day of Service. There were questions to be answered with people are your table as well as an online  survey.