With service being one of Bluffton’s four enduring values, student groups like SERVE seek to benefit their communities in any way they can with service projects.
Sarah Woods and Dale Smith posing with their bags made for Family Promise during the SERVE Thursday Night Spotlight event. Photo taken by Elizabeth Rockwell.
SERVE is a student group on campus offering service project opportunities to students to benefit the local community. On Thursday, Oct. 21, SERVE hosted Thursday Night Spotlight in Bob’s Place. At this event, the group made care packages for a local family shelter in Lima called Family Promise.
Among the attendants were Anneliese Horner, a member of the SERVE leadership team who has been in SERVE since her freshman year. Horner is a senior TESOL (Teaching English to speakers of other languages) major.
“Going back to my freshman year, my roommate and I were friends with people on the leadership team,” Horner said. “We went to the first meeting, and to our surprise, it was the leadership team and just us, these two little freshmen. It was kind of nerve-wracking at first, but then we went to more events. This is really doing something good for people on campus and off-campus.”
Students at the SERVE Thursday Night Spotlight event watching an interview with the director of Family Promise, Chuck Wolfe. Photo by Elizabeth Rockwell.
At the event, there were about 30 students who made about 40 care packages for both children and adults at the homeless shelter.
Kids activity kit for Family Promise, made by Bluffton students during the SERVE event. Photo by Elizabeth Rockwell.
Students of all backgrounds and groups also attended the event, including Sarah Woods, a junior business administration and sociology major.
“I was really looking forward to this event and being able to give back to people in need,” Woods said. “It’s important we do more events like this. It’s not often we are given the chance to give back to the community with how busy we are.”
Adult hygiene kit for Family Promise, made by Bluffton students at the SERVE event. Photo by Elizabeth Rockwell.
SERVE plans to host more service events throughout the semester to give back to the community, whether it be on campus or helping another local community.
SERVE meetings are at 8:30 a.m. Thursdays the Commons during breakfast. For more information about events, email Amy Marshall maraka[at]bluffton.edu to be added to the emailing list.
