A P i rat e ’s G uide to
Service A publication of the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center
S Marks the Spot! Welcome to the first edition of the Volunteer and ServiceLearning Center newsletter! As the 2008-2009 academic year continues at East Carolina University, we would like to begin giving monthly updates pertaining to our Center’s ongoing activities. In this newsletter, we intend to recognize student and program accomplishments in service and highlight the impact the Center has on the Greenville community. In addition to our monthly newsletter, we will also have a quarterly insert directly related to service-learning at ECU. This addition is intended as a guide for current and future faculty interested in integrating service-learning pedagogy into their academic curriculum.
What the VSLC Can Do For You Liability Insurance Policy - By registering with our Center, students are covered under our free Liability Insurance policy. Therefore, any accident directly inflicted while volunteering will be covered under our 1 million dollar insurance plan. Track Record - Once entered into our database, the VSLC can collect and hold a record of your volunteer experience while an ECU student. Service is an excellent way to build your resume! Online Resources- http://www.ecu.edu/vslc... where you can find our Calendar of Events, Blood Drive dates, resources for students, faculty and community partners, all updated regularly. New Service Opportunities Guide- Our 2008 Guide lists over 120 local and national agencies located in Eastern NC. Descriptions of volunteer work, hours of operation and contact information can be found for each community agency represented along with locations and distance relative to ECU’s main campus. New Facebook Page- By becoming a fan of our page, the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center, you will join the volunteer network on ECU’s campus and have direct access to upcoming volunteer opportunities.
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ECU Student Spotlight Scott Councilman Why Volunteer?
Million Meals Challenge Make a Difference Day Pirate Plunge
Calendar of VSLC Upcoming Events Ongoing and Future Events
A Pirate’s Guide to Service Page 2
East Carolina University
Student Spotlight
Scott Councilman Last year, Scott Councilman, now a Junior at East Carolina University, began his own program here at the VSLC - Pirate Playtime. This student-led program takes ECU volunteers to various after school programs in Greenville and facilitates games and activities for the attending children. Pirate Playtime has become a consistent, lasting program of the VSLC. Pirate Playtime takes place every other Friday afternoon, from 2PM5PM. So far, they have played with children from local community partners such as Building Hope, Boys and Girls Club, Little Willie Center, Koinonia and Philippi after school programs, and CM Eppes Elementary School. Last month, Scott was awarded North Carolina Campus Compact’s Community Impact Student Award. This award is presented annually to students who have made significant, innovative contributions to campus-based efforts to address community needs. As a Physical Education major, Scott is constantly thinking up fresh activities that keep the children moving around and exercising, but more importantly, having fun.
Scott Councilman, above, with two children from Building Hope during the VSLC Pirate Plunge in September, 2008.
Why Volunteer? Flexible Agenda – Volunteer work is purely up to you. You can choose which organizations you would like to help. You can decide exactly how much time you have to give. You can always try something new. Raise Self-Esteem – There are few things more satisfying than helping others. As a volunteer, you gain a fresh perspective, a sense of belonging, and a deeper understanding of the immediate needs in your local community. Resume Builder – From a professional standpoint, volunteering is a great way to be introduced to opportunities that add to or build on your personal skills. Local Networking – The more people you know, the more opportunity knocks.
A pessimist, they say, sees a glass of water as being half empty; an optimist sees the same glass as half full. But a giving person sees a glass of water and starts looking for someone who might be thirsty. G. Donald Gale
A Pirate’s Guide to Service Page 3
Million Meals Challenge
VSLC Special Events
Kicking off the new school year, the VSLC partnered with Stop Hunger Now and Pitt County Community Schools and Recreation to host the Million Meals Challenge! Stop Hunger Now, a non-profit international hunger-relief organization based in Raleigh, NC, began in 1998. Their mission: to achieve a world without hunger. Ten years later, they have shipped meals to over 65 countries, and have organized both small and large scale events that take place across North Carolina. Stop Hunger Now invited NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill along with ECU to participate in this recordbreaking challenge on Saturday, August 23rd, 2008. Prior to August 23rd, the organization’s record for a one-day packaging event involving college students was 300,000 meals. Not only was this record broken, but volunteers exceeded the million meal mark by more than 10,000 meals. In total; 1,010,374 meals were packaged. In Greenville, over 750 volunteers united under the roof of CM Eppes Middle School for this day-long event that resulted in 201,108 meals packaged. Throughout the three four-hour shifts, speakers Mayor Patricia Dunn and Provost Marilyn Sheerer came to show their support, as well as local TV stations and newspaper reporters. ECU students stood side-by-side with local Greenville residents at one of four different stations in the assembly line to rapidly package as many meals possible. From filling bags with rice, dehydrated vegetables and vitamin supplements, to weighing, sealing, packing and loading boxes, each bag went through the hands of numerous volunteers all supporting the national effort to help those in need overseas.
Make a Difference Day
Pirate Plunge
Make a Difference Day was created by USA WEEKEND magazine in 1990 as a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. Millions of people have participated in this annual event (the fourth Saturday in October), accomplishing thousands of projects all over the United States. In 2007, over 3 million people volunteered to strengthen their local communities on Make a Difference Day.
On Friday, September 26th, the VSLC brought community partners Building Hope, the Humane Society of Eastern Carolina, Give 2 the Troops, and the Carolina House to Mendenhall Student Center for an afternoon of fun! 20 ECU students came and volunteered during the day doing a range of activities – from playing bingo with the elderly, making cards for soldiers spending the holidays overseas, grooming and exercising dogs, and entertaining two buses full of elementary school kids with relay races, jump rope and soccer, there was a smile to be found everywhere you looked; even a few curious students walking home from classes decided to join in on the excitement.
On October 25th, 2008, over 50 ECU students chose to wake up early and dedicate their time volunteering on this largest national day of helping others. The VSLC organized seven different project sites in Greenville. Students worked with both local and national organizations such as the Humane Society of Eastern Carolina, Give 2 the Troops, RHA Howell, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern Carolina, Sterling House, Red Oak Assisted Living and the Ronald McDonald House to help complete projects and to make a difference. From 8:30am12:30pm, ECU students could be found walking and washing dogs, sorting through children clothing donations, playing bingo and trivia with the elderly, putting together Christmas stockings for American soldiers, organizing food products by expiration dates, and cleaning up Ronald McDonald himself!
Calendar of VSLC Upcoming Events
A Pirate’s Guide to Service Page 4
Blood Drive: Tuesday, November 4th from 11AM-5PM. Sweethearts at Todd Dining Hall. TRIPS Interest Meeting: Tuesday, November 4th from 4PM-6PM. Mendenhall Student Center Room 212. TRIPS (Turning Responsibility into Powerful Service) is a group of student leaders that designs, recruits, and leads alternative break trips during the school year. Interest Meetings are held for students interested in participating on an alternative spring break trip in 2009. Blood Drive: Wednesday, November 5th from 11AM-5PM. Mendenhall Student Center. TRIPS Interest Meeting: Wednesday, November 5th from 5PM-6PM. Mendenhall Student Center Room 212. Blood Drive: Thursday, November 6th from 11AM-5PM. Health Sciences Building. Pirate Playtime: Friday, November 7th from 2-5PM. A student-led program in which volunteers go to various after school programs in the Greenville community and facilitate games and activities for children in attendance. For more information, please e-mail pirateplaytime@gmail.com Blood Drive: Thursday, November 13th from 11AM-5PM. Sweethearts at Todd Dining Hall. Blood Drive: Wednesday, November 19th from 11AM-5PM. Sweethearts at Todd Dining Hall. Blood Drive: Thursday, November 20th from 11AM-5PM. Brody School of Medicine. Pirate Playtime: Friday, November 21st from 2-5PM. For more information, please e-mail pirateplaytime@gmail.com Blood Drive: Wednesday, December 3rd from 11AM-5PM. Mendenhall Student Center.
Ongoing and Future Events 100,000 Pound Food Drive: An ongoing program created to help fight against hunger in Eastern North Carolina and across the country. Donate to your local food bank or pantry or incorporate food donation into current or future programming. For more information: http//www.ecu.edu/vslc MLK Day of Service: Monday, January 19th, 2009. At East Carolina University, sponsored by the VSLC. For more informationTBA: http://www.ecu.edu/vslc Fairytale Boutique: Early Spring 2009. Sponsored by the VSLC, this program is designed to help young women in Pitt County attend Prom regardless of their financial circumstances. The Center collects new and gently used prom/formal gowns, shoes and accessories that are redistributed at no cost to the young women. ACCEPTING DONATIONS NOW.
Volunteer and Service-Learning Center Old Cafeteria Complex 252.328.2735 (phone) 252.328.0139 (fax) www.ecu.edu/vslc vslc@ecu.edu
November Edition 2008