Alumni to join students in annual service day on March 27
The office of alumni relations promotes participation in first ever Lipscomb Alumni Days of Service
Anna Moseley |
In 2018, more than 1,000 students, faculty and staff volunteered and helped 50 organizations around Nashville.
This year, Lipscomb University’s annual Service Day, where more than 1,000 students spend the afternoon volunteering at nonprofits, will spread beyond the Nashville community to Huntsville, Alabama; Chattanooga; and Memphis as Lipscomb alumni also serve together and invest in their communities during the week.
Tomorrow, Lipscomb will hold its 17th annual Service Day, where any students who desire are excused from classes to participate in service across 50 locations in the Nashville area.
“Service Day is one of many moments that Lipscomb has to pull back the curtain for our Nashville community and show them the true character of our campus,” said Sam Smith, dean of student life. “I believe that communities thrive when organizations are able to invest time and energy in order to help each other accomplish their goals. Our students have that energy and service is meshed into their DNA.”
“Service is such a huge component of the Lipscomb experience and remains a big part of the alumni experience” said Rhonda Minton, director of alumni programs. “We hope to expand on the impact Lipscomb students are making in Nashville as alumni volunteer to serve in their communities.”
The Lipscomb Alumni Days of Service program began on Saturday, March 23, and will wrap up on Saturday, March 27. The program is designed to unite alumni nationwide in their specific communities through service.
Alumni in Chattanooga served senior adult residents at Elmcroft at Shallowford through music, arts and crafts and games. Project leader Patricia Bethel (’72) said she felt as though she was the one being served during this project.
Lisa Scherur, Patricia Bethel and Rachel Scherur volunteered at Elmcroft at Shallowford in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“My mother and father instilled the importance of service in me at a young age and the service I participated in during my time at Lipscomb really reinforced what they taught me,” said Bethel. “I always leave service projects feeling like the one who was served rather than the one who was serving.”
Alumni in Memphis shelved and cataloged books at the Kingsbury Middle School last Saturday as a way to give back to their community.
As students work throughout the Nashville area on Wednesday, alumni in Huntsville, Alabama, will join them by volunteering at Manna House packing bags of food for local residents.
Because this is the inaugural year for the Lipscomb Alumni Days of Service program, Minton said she wanted to start small by reaching a few other nearby cities, but hopes that this program continues to grow.
“In the alumni office, our hope is to spread the program to more cities next year and to eventually have Lipscomb alumni volunteering in their communities all across the nation to spread the servant spirit,” said Minton. “Alumni serving together benefits the community and allows them to plug in and connect with fellow alumni they may not connect with otherwise.”
Service Day is one of many university-coordinated volunteer opportunities that students are encouraged to participate in throughout the academic year. Other opportunities include QuestWeek Service Day, spring and summer mission trips, social club service events and SALT (Serving and Learning Together) program events.
Learn more about service day and the locations served.
If you are interested in leaning more about Alumni Days of Service, contact Rhonda Minton, director of alumni programs at rhonda.minton [at] lipscomb.edu.