USA celebrates MLK Day with service project

The University of South Alabama prepares to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a service and outreach event Jan. 19 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. with the support of many faculty, staff, alumni and students. Event coordinators are calling on volunteers from various colleges and organizations of USA with a catchy slogan, "Make it a Day On … Not a Day Off," in support of the philanthropic mission. To volunteer for the USA MLK Day of Service project, visit http://www.mlkday.org. Click on "how to serve," and then click again on "Alabama," or e-mail kpeterson@usouthal.edu. A JagTran will be leaving the USA Student Center flagpole area at promptly 9:30 a.m. for easy transportation. Volunteer efforts will take place in the Crichton community of Mobile located at the Sybil H. Smith Family Village at 111 Mobile St. Registration begins at 10 a.m., and lunch will be served at 1 p.m. for all volunteers. The MLK Day of Service project serves as an initiation event for the University of South Alabama new Center for Academic Service-Learning and Civic Engagement, co-directed by Dawn McKinney, school of computer and information sciences senior instructor, and Karen Peterson, English instructor at USA. The project will be an academic service-learning approach that universities worldwide will be a part of in their connected communities. Service projects were initiated to promote proactive thinking as well as create a model for community development often used to bring people together and as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals. The goal of the new center will be to bring service-learning into the light and provide training and support. Many students are becoming increasingly involved in the makings of the center. Stephen Purnell, a freshman seminar class student, thought up the slogan for the new center, "Taking Academics Beyond the Classroom." "USA's new Center for Academic Service-Learning and Civic Engagement will focus on encouraging service-learning by providing training and opportunities for both faculty and students as well as by showcasing service-learning work that is already happening here at South," McKinney said. Coordinators of the event reveal that service projects should not be purely aimed at academic advancement alone. Students especially are encouraged to participate in service events such as MLK Day to become more civic-minded citizens who are concerned for their own communities. An extensive line-up of projects will be available during the MLK Day of Service, including, but not limited to, health screenings, yard clean-up at Dumas Wesley Community Center, arts and crafts, painting, computer workshops, preparing meals at the Waterfront Rescue Mission, clothes sorting at Penelope House Clothes Closet and volunteer work at Little Sisters of the Poor for the elderly. Volunteers will gather at 10 a.m. at the start of the day and disperse into various projects. Specific students from the freshman seminar class, the masterminds behind MLK Day, will teach women at Sybil Smith about job searching, basic computer skills, resume building and Internet safety for children. Multiple student-led teams will also mentor children and provide health screenings. "My past students in CAS 100, Freshman Seminar, planned this whole event for the University," Peterson said. "They contacted the agencies and did the publicity. As for other students participating, they will get the experience of helping others in need. Most of our students already serve the community in some way, but this day may help them find new ways to serve." Entertainment will also be available while you work with a USA African-American Student Association Choir performance and similar activities. Sponsors for the USA MLK Day of Service are Target, The Coca-Cola Corporation, USA Student Government Association, USA Jaguar Productions, USA Dining Services and Spring Hill Avenue United Methodist Church. "If everyone supports this first MLK Day of Service, which by the way is the biggest one in Mobile, and wish to continue doing it, we will be thrilled to see it become an annual event," Peterson said. "Dawn McKinney and I would like to see that happen, but we will let the students direct us on what they would like us to do." All volunteers will walk away with T-shirts at the end of the day, but Peterson ensures that most will come away with much more. "We need you to make this a success, and our promise is that you will gain even more from the experience than those you will serve," manager of student activities Sally Cobb said. "USA continues to make a difference, and this first MLK Day of Service will show others that we care."