Students, Staff Participate in Service to Honor MLK
Just days before President Barack Obama was inaugurated, he called upon Americans to serve by volunteering on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and throughout the year. And while Rider’s annual MLK Days of Service will not be held until later this month, some members of the University community answered the 44th president of the United States’ call to action by participating in service activities on the federal holiday.
On Monday, January 19, four Rider Bonner Leaders, one graduate assistant and one staff member gathered with other New Jersey Bonner Leaders at the James Kearny Campus of Mercer County College to learn about King’s legacy and how the economic crisis has affected hunger issues in New Jersey.
“We were introduced to sobering statistics on poverty that befall the Trenton population,” said Kyle Collins, a junior Political Science major. “Most disturbing to me was the fact that in our state’s capital, 32 percent of children live below the poverty line.”
Later that day, the Rider volunteers sorted donations and food items for HomeFront, a nonprofit organization located in Lawrenceville that caters to homeless families in the Trenton area. As part of an activity designed by HomeFront, the volunteers constructed a “budget” of an individual living below the poverty level in order to learn about their struggles.
“Many kindhearted people came out on this day to help bring light to those lost in darkness, keeping the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. alive,” Collins said. “With economic turmoil still brewing, it is vital that this remarkable coming together to help those in need does not only occur just one day a year.”
Other volunteers included Heather Brisby, coordinator of Community Service; Ilona “Loni” Chasar, a freshman Elementary Education and Psychology major; Uchenna Duru, an M.B.A. candidate and graduate assistant in the Center for Multicultural Affairs; Chelsea Kovacs, a senior Elementary Education and Psychology major; and Cassandre Wagnac, a junior Psychology major.
“I wanted to volunteer because I want to make a difference. I know that I had to wake up at 7 in the morning on my day off, but I was eager to help people,” explained Chasar, who will also participate in Rider’s MLK Days of Service. “There is something about community service that makes you so much happier in life. I feel a lot happier and healthier since I have been part of the Bonner program here at Rider.”
Meanwhile, United Way intern Jessica Sprung, a sophomore Sociology major, was running a service project in the Randolph Community Senior Center in Randolph, N.J. Sprung, who interned at the nonprofit in Morristown during the winter break, was asked to create a service project for MLK Day.
Sprung organized a sandwich-making event for United Way, where more than 100 volunteers gathered for two hours in the Randolph Community Senior Center. More than 400 sandwiches were made for the homeless at the Community Soup Kitchen in Morristown, N.J.
“The fact that it was the day before the inauguration of Barack Obama, who’s looking to make a change, everyone was more enthusiastic to volunteer,” Sprung said. “The enthusiasm that everyone brought with them made the energy levels rise and made everyone happy.”
A member of Delta Phi Epsilon, Sprung borrowed the idea from Midnight Run, in which some of her sorority members have participated. During the Midnight Run project, Rider students prepare sandwiches and pack blankets and other personal-care items, which they deliver to the homeless in New York City.
The internship and service activity allowed Sprung to apply what she has learned in the classroom to a real-life experience.
“The internship helped me realize that I want to stick with my Sociology major. It helped me to do something to help those in need, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to do so,” she said.
Rider will officially commemorate King during its MLK Days of Service on Friday, February 27, and Saturday, February 28. Bonners will be participating in various service projects. This year, Campus Life is also looking for students to participate in service activities held at various local nonprofit organizations.
Projects on Friday, February 27, include:
Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, 9 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.
Five volunteers are needed to serve lunch and assist with GED tutoring. Lunch will be provided.
Habitat for Humanity, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
10 volunteers are needed to assist with a home building project.
HomeFront, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
10 volunteers are needed to assist with the HomeFront Store, sort items and unpack delivery trucks.
Womanspace, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Five volunteers are needed to help clean and help with maintenance of a shelter.
Grace Baptist Church, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
15 volunteers are needed to paint, clean and polish wood within a historic site.
Projects on Saturday, February 28, include:
Arc Mercer, 9:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
10 volunteers are needed to help residents of an Arc group home participate in a bowling activity.
Rescue Mission of Trenton, 10 a.m. to noon
20 volunteers are needed to assist the organization in sorting clothes and working in the Mission Store and warehouse.
Grace Baptist Church, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
15 volunteers are needed to paint, clean and polish wood within a historic site.
Students interested in volunteering on one of the projects must sign up on the board outside BLC 136 by Friday, February 20, 2009. For more information, please call the Office of Campus Life at 609-896-5327.
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