Aria Behrouzi
A day off was a day on for service, as students gathered Saturday afternoon in Talley Student Center to give back to the global community during the Martin Luther King Jr. Service Challenge.
King once posed a challenge to all Americans, saying “life’s most persistent and urging question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” The Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service adopted this motto, and created a day of service to benefit the Stop Hunger Now program and the Salvation Army.
Since the program’s conception five years ago, it has done nothing but “grown in depth and service opportunity,” according to Tierza Watts, associate director of CSLEPS.
Amanda Ross, community service leader for CSLEPS, said the challenge is a great way for students to act on a desire to get involved in the community.
“Some students are energized, but need an extra step,” she said. “Some need to see that there are others in the community like them and will push them to do more.”
The event, which used to incorporate an off-campus extension, has become efficient enough to host and execute the assembly of the projects in Talley Ballroom.
According to Watts, Campus Recreation donated supplies for hygiene kits — including shaving cream, razors and body powder — earmarked for the Salvation Army.
“These kits are something so little that can have such a big impact for someone waiting in line at a soup kitchen,” Ross said. “It’s also something that students can take back to their organizations and create themselves. It’s part of the philosophy of giving back to North Carolina.” Other sponsors of the event included the Dentists of Smiles at Glenwood, Jelokhani and Associates, Wal-Mart, Campus Activities and the Delta Upsilon fraternity.
In addition to the 130 hygiene kits completed, participants packaged more than 18,600 high-protein dehydrated meals for the Stop Hunger Now program, with the meals being destined for Haiti.
The day of service, along with other events, is facilitated by service leadership consultants — the student arm of CSLEPS. Essentially, the group is “a great dynamic pool of students interested in diversity,” Ross said.
“The group facilitation aspect adds to the office perspective and what we can offer,” she said.
She said N.C. State students in particular can be key contributors to the service world.
“[NCSU] students have practical skills that are desperately needed,” Ross said. “Our program taps into engineers and other careers that you wouldn’t normally think of as service leaders.”
One such service leader, junior in chemical engineering, Renee Nobles, said she has a true passion for the position.
“We want [students] not to just come in and leave, but think, ‘Why did I come here, and what does this mean?'” Nobles said.
Also in the service day was a time for students to socialize and learn about problems facing society.
“We facilitate discussion, and just talk about a knowledge of social issues — that’s our main goal,” Nobles said. “We want people to come in and get everyone involved, and thinking about why they came.”
For Hanna Rodriguez, a junior in chemical engineering, the service challenge was her first CSLEPS event. She said she was interested in the volunteering as well as the discussion aspect of the program.
“I do a lot of [volunteering], but not like this,” Rodriguez said. “I love everything about volunteering, and I’m new here, so I looked it up online and registered.”
Dale Johnson, an advisor to the film The Passion of the Christ, will speak at the Center’s next event, held Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Talley Ballroom.
“We try to choose speakers who have demonstrated leadership, justice, integrity, someone who’s really given back to the community and demonstrates the character of a model leader,” Adam Culley, the CSLEPS graduate assistant, said.