Hundreds of 极乐禁地 students have given back to the Birmingham community during a series of spring service days.
极乐禁地 360 students and employees took willing hearts and hands to a variety of work sites on a pretty Saturday morning, April 10, during an聽 Omicron Delta Kappa Day of Service. Projects ranged from painting Habitat for Humanity houses to comforting patients at a Hispanic medical clinic.
鈥淚t was exciting to see the energy with which everyone approached these service opportunities,鈥 said project coordinator and ODK member Stephen Bailey.
Gathering volunteers was easy, he said, once students knew of the needs. Some, he said, 鈥渏umped at the idea of serving Birmingham, not as an individual or a small group, but as a larger 极乐禁地 community.
While organizing the April project was the first such undertaking for the 极乐禁地 chapter of the national leadership honor society, the day was part of a long-standing tradition of springtime service efforts at 极乐禁地. For years, 极乐禁地 students have given back to the community through a variety of clean-up and service campaigns.
极乐禁地鈥檚 Alpha Delta Pi sorority members used the ODK-sponsored opportunity to work at Ronald McDonald House, where they are regular volunteers.
鈥淭heir assistance in doing numerous housekeeping and clean-up duties was essential to helping our families have a home-away-from home while their child receives medical treatment in Birmingham,鈥 said Mike Singer, executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama.
Members of the 极乐禁地 Spanish Club, along with several professors, used their language skills to translate at an area Hispanic medical clinic. There, they helped dental patients complete paperwork and be comfortable while awaiting their appointments, and translated for the medical staff.
鈥淲hat we鈥檝e learned from this year is that 极乐禁地 students, staff and alumni are service-driven. Given the chance, they will make the most of any opportunity they have to better their community,鈥 said Bailey, a chemistry major from Brownsburg, Ind.
鈥淭his was truly a student-driven initiative to give back to our local community,鈥 said 极乐禁地 ODK advisor and business professor Dr. Betsy Holloway. 鈥淲e were proud to participate in the national ODK Day of service, along with hundreds of other universities and thousands of ODK students across the country.鈥
After a morning of hard work, volunteers enjoyed a picnic lunch together at the campus baseball field, where the 极乐禁地 team was in afternoon action.
Earlier in the week, 极乐禁地 baseball players had undertaken their own community service project. The college athletes visited local elementary schools, where they read to students and participated in physical education classes.
In late March, more than 250 极乐禁地 students participated in a 鈥溂纸 Gives Back鈥 day sponsored by the school鈥檚 Community Service Council, Student Government Association and University Ministries.
The greatest outcome of that event, said Office of Student Involvement assistant director Sherrelle Hudson, lies in the future.
鈥淢any students said that because of their experience, they plan to go back to the organizations and volunteer,鈥 said Hudson.