WESLEYANengaged
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND SERVICE LEARNING
Wesleyan Engaged elevates the importance of civic leadership and engagement in both the curriculum and student life at VWU. One important way we do this is by nurturing partnerships with civic organizations to facilitate meaningful studentengagement activities. Here’s a look at the ways we kept Virginia Wesleyan engaged in the Coastal Virginia community during the 2022-23 academic year.
Stepping Up to the Plate
When VWU students learned about 67 elementary students who had weekend food insecurities, they stepped up to the plate and packed bags of food for the children to take home twice a month. For over 14 years, our partner, Haygood United Methodist Church, has been engaged in the Backpack Ministry sponsored by the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore. This year our VWU Campus Ministries had a huge hand in making sure those bags of food were packed and delivered.
High Praise for VWU As One
VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY | SUMMER 2023
For the second year in a row, VWU AS ONE Praise Band led worship at the Coastal Virginia District UMC High School Retreat at Camp Occohannock on the Bay. It’s amazing to witness our students sharing their faith with the youth in our community.
Relief Kits
Students and staff volunteered at Operation Blessing’s warehouse in Chesapeake to help pack emergency meal kits. These kits provided food to children and families all over the world, as well as training on the importance of a nutritious diet. Later in the year, staff volunteered to pack disaster relief kits that will help people when tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, or other humanitarian crises strike.
IN THE BAG!
Wesleyan Engaged hosted the Chesapeake Bay Foundation on September 13 and November 10 for oyster bagging events. Students, faculty and staff put together a total of 170 bags of recycled oyster shells. These shells will provide homes to 467,500 baby oysters at the Brock Environmental Center. Once placed back into the Chesapeake Bay, these oysters will filter 23.4 million gallons of water a day. We could not have done it without our awesome volunteers!
MLK Day
Members of the Virginia Wesleyan community were engaged in numerous opportunities to serve the local community during a Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend of Service, held January 14-16. Learn more about all the ways VWU honored Dr. King’s legacy.
Red Cross Blood Drive
Wesleyan Engaged hosted a total of four blood drives through the Red Cross during the 2022-2023 academic year. Blood donations may be used for patients in need of surgery, cancer treatment and transfusions for blood loss from traumatic injuries. We had a total of 115 donors, which equated to 327 potential lives saved from the blood donated.
Packed and Ready to Go
The University is proud to house the offices of Girls on the Run Hampton Roads on our campus, and Wesleyan Engaged is proud to partner with the organization. Last fall we hosted a 5K Packet Stuffing Party to prepare 1,200 5K packets for their celebration event. In the spring we hosted a Girl Pack Assembly Party to prepare 1,100 sport packs for their after-school program participants. And we hosted their celebratory spring 2023 5K on campus. This event attracts thousands of supporters and gives program participants of all abilities a tangible sense of accomplishment.
GOTR-HR inspires all girls to build confidence and kindness while learning valuable life skills that emphasize the connection between physical and emotional health.
Wrapping Up the Holidays
In partnership with United Way of South Hampton Roads, students, faculty and staff helped wrap 34 gifts for four local families in time for the holidays.
Green Thumb
During the fall semester, students volunteered with the horticulture department at Norfolk Botanical Garden by pruning plants to facilitate growth for the next season.
Energizing Youth Groups
VWU Campus Ministries heard the concerns of youth leaders struggling to reconnect and engage youth back into church life post-COVID. The group responded with a student-led monthly event called Wesleyan Worship Youth Sundays: As One. This pilot program invited youth groups to the VWU campus to worship, play games and eat dinner together in the campus dining hall. Many of the smaller youth groups were grateful that this event gave their students an opportunity to meet and interact with other students in the Coastal Virginia District. “This event has infused energy and excitement back into our group after COVID,” explained Kim Pool, a youth leader with New Creation UMC. “The youth love coming to VWU and having college students share their faith with them.” VWU students, in turn, love the energy the youth groups bring and the connections that are made. We look forward to continuing the program next fall.
Sweet Treats
Seventeen students visited the senior residents at The Gardens of Virginia Beach. In the fall, students and residents decorated Halloween cookies together at the Halloween Bash and made tie-dye T-shirts. In the spring, they decorated Valentine’s Day cookies and made tie-dye bags for the residents to attach to their walkers and wheelchairs.
Plastic Payout
VWU was awarded a composite bench from NexTrex for donating 500 lbs. of plastic over the course of six months. The bench is located on the Wesleyan Trails between Villages 3 & 4. Wesleyan Engaged continues to collect plastic—in fact, we already have another 105 lbs. collected. NexTrex boxes are located in Clarke Hall, Batten Student Center, Hofheimer Library, and Greer Environmental Sciences Center.
MARLIN MAKEOVER
During the fall semester, students and staff volunteered with Habitat for Humanity of South Hampton Roads at a local rebuild site in Chesapeake. They gutted the existing house to the studs and did painting and trim work. Learn more about the family.
Food & Clothing Drives
Over the fall and spring semesters students, staff and faculty collected various items to be donated. At least 140 cans of food were donated to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore. More than 100 shirts, sweatshirts, pants and shorts were given to the Salvation Army, Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters and Samaritan House. Additionally, in partnership with Bayside High School, VWU donated 25 pairs of sneakers to be recycled to GotSneakers.
Kick-off & Cookout
All Decked Out
Six VWU students, along with the director of Wesleyan Engaged, volunteered at Nauticus on the USS Wisconsin (BB-64). They stripped the floor in the engineering berthing area and swept the dining area. This allowed for new spaces on the ship to open up for the Battleship Wisconsin’s 79th Birthday celebration!
The youth soccer program, in partnership with the Baylake United Methodist Church, has been utilizing The Shelhorse Lawn for their games. They had their last game of the season and a cookout Sunday, May 28.
