UNC Pembroke remembers, serves in honor of 9/11

By Dalton Hoffer, NC Campus Compact VISTA at UNC Pembroke

UNC Pembroke volunteers served the community Saturday 14th, 2013 for UNC Pembroke’s 4th Annual 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance. Over 100 UNCP students, faculty and staff served at eleven community sites in the Pembroke and Lumberton areas, engaging over 50 community members.

The day started with a remembrance ceremony on the UNCP campus.  The Air Force ROTC color guard opened with the raising of the flag.  Four (4) UNCP students harmonized to sing the national anthem.  Mike Clawson, retired Army Colonel and Program Coordinator UNCP Military and Veteran Services gave an inspiring and motivating message to the on-looking volunteers.  The day of service was led by 18 student site leaders.  Site Leaders and volunteers worked on several different projects including a cleaning along and removing debris from the Lumber River, gardening and repairing garden beds, washing and walking sheltered dogs, cooking and serving homeless citizens, registering walkers and participating in the Hunger Walk and several outdoor maintenance projects.

At the end of the service day, site leaders led a reflection with volunteers at the service sites.  Each volunteer was given a card and asked to write a word that described their day of service experience.  Volunteers listed “awesome”, “inspiring”, “fulfilling” and “tough” as some of the words that described their experience.  Each volunteer shared their word and how that word described their experience.  On the other side of the card volunteers were asked to write their age on 9/11/2001.  Student volunteers shared how the 9/11 events impacted their lives until now.  Sharing volunteer reflections highlighted the importance of day of service. Many students shared that they look forward to new service opportunities and continuing their service at UNC Pembroke.

P.S. A UNCP alum and former student worker in the university's Office of Civic Engagement, Dalton had participated in 9/11 Day of Service events in the past. But as the VISTA and lead coordinator this year, he said, "I had to step up." Dalton implemented several changes including extensive social media advertising and closer collaboration with student site leaders. The leaders, including a number of first years, were identified early in the semester; and they helped with planning, identifying service sites, and recruiting volunteers. Dalton organized meetings and trainings for the leaders, including a session on 9/11 in advance of the day of service, where leaders participated in reflection, tie-dyed leader t-shirts, and prepped for the event. "At the end of the day, I was most impressed with the involvement of the site leaders and their dedication," Dalton says. The experience taught Dalton lessons too, including the importance of being flexible and sharing tasks. "It was overwhelming at times because I put a lot on myself." In future projects, he expects to make delegating to capable students a priority.

Dalton is looking forward to his next project, a one-night retreat with 20 students to design a mentoring program that will support local high schoolers. He'll be working with community partner, Pembroke Housing Authority, and involving some of the same student service leaders that helped with 9/11 Day of Service.

Western Carolina hosts 9/11 Day of Service

The Western Carolina University Center for Service Learning hosted its second annual 9/11 Day of Service on Saturday, September 8th.  Forty-four students, faculty and staff volunteered for a total of 174 hours at seven locations throughout Jackson and Haywood counties.  The day began at 8am and wrapped up at 3pm. 

Service sites included Appalachian Homestead Farm and Preserve, the WCU Campus Kitchen Garden, Catman2 cat shelter, the Cullowhee Fire Department, Full Spectrum Farms, Habitat for Humanity, and the Pathways Thrift Store. 

WCU students, faculty and staff remembered 9/11 with a day of service.

Volunteers assisted partner sites with various tasks, including picking beans and spreading fertilizer at the Appalachian Homestead Farm and Preserve, cleaning facilities and equipment at several locations, building with Habitat for Humanity, and garden clean up at Full Spectrum Farms, where participants also learned about Full Spectrum's work with autistic adults.  

Senior Julian Dunst, an exchange student from Germany, said he appreciated the opportunity to learn more about this area of the United States and that reflecting on his experience was a new and welcome change from service experience in his home country.

Lane Perry, director of the WCU Center for Service Learning, also reflected on the day of service experience. “Two of my mentors, Dr’s Billy O’Steen and Patti Clayton, have described service-learning like this: in class students do not get credit for reading the textbook, but they get a grade for further analysis of the book and how their analysis is presented,” Perry said. “Similarly, students do not get a grade for service, but they get a grade for the critical analysis and reflection on their experience.

“The 9/11 Day of Service allowed volunteers to have the opportunity to take a moment to remember the tragic event that occurred 11 years ago and to participate in service that can serve as a text they carry back with them into their classes at WCU,” said Perry.

VISTA member Derald "Banjo" Dryman helped coordinate community service placements for the event, as part of his work to support national days of service, including the 9/11 Day of Service.