There are dozens of opportunities for students to volunteer for their community throughout the semester.
One such opportunity was available Monday during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of service.
Members of Alpha Phi, the community, first-year students orientation leaders spent part of their holiday assembling crafts and creating art to benefit the King’s Kettle, the Boys and Girls Club of Shippensburg and the Elmcroft Retirement Community.
The crafts included making lollipop flowers to go into planters, where seedlings will later sprout into sunflowers.
Some volunteers decorated pots, while others planted the seedlings. Volunteers at the final station created paper butterflies that clip to the pots with clothespins.
Participants at other stations made Valentines to send to King’s Kettle and the Boys and Girls Club of Shippensburg.
Volunteers created heart-shaped pieces of paper with words of affirmation on them and deposited the hearts into jars with bags of hot chocolate mixtures.
Javita Thompson, who directs the First Year Experience and Community Engagement, explained the importance of volunteering within the community.
“This kind of event says that we care about our community and the people that are here. We oftentimes don’t always get a chance to do things like this,” Thompson said.
The Slate welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.