{"id":5490,"date":"2021-08-23T15:44:21","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T20:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/?p=5490"},"modified":"2021-08-23T15:44:21","modified_gmt":"2021-08-23T20:44:21","slug":"missouri-western-serving-with-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/2021\/08\/23\/missouri-western-serving-with-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"大象传媒 Western serving with purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0);background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:#eae9e9;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start\" style=\"max-width:104%;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep\" style=\"align-self: center;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;width:100%;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 20px;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 1.92%;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 1.92%;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-0{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-0 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_3_4 3_4 fusion-flex-column\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><style type=\"text\/css\">@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-1{margin-top:0px!important;margin-bottom:31px!important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-title.fusion-title-1{margin-top:10px!important;margin-bottom:10px!important;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-1 fusion-title-center fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-one\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:31px;\"><div class=\"title-sep-container title-sep-container-left\"><div class=\"title-sep sep-single sep-solid\" style=\"border-color:#e0dede;\"><\/div><\/div><h1 class=\"title-heading-center\" style=\"margin:0;\">大象传媒 Western serving with purpose<\/h1><div class=\"title-sep-container title-sep-container-right\"><div class=\"title-sep sep-single sep-solid\" style=\"border-color:#e0dede;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\" style=\"transform:translate3d(0,0,0);\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Martin Luther King, Jr. once stated, \u201cLife\u2019s most persistent and urgent question is, \u2018What are you <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">doing for others?\u2019\u201d This thought-provoking sentence served as the catalyst and inspiration for <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">creating 大象传媒 Western\u2019s Center for Service.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dr. Melody Smith \u201987 was approached by the former administration and asked to create a new department that would keep the service aspect of 大象传媒 Western alive within the community. \u201cHow do you get the town to come to 大象传媒 Western, and most importantly, how do <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">we<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> get 大象传媒 Western across the highway to the west side of town to be a part of the city so we are not recognized as the \u2018university over there on the east side?\u2019 How can people, culturally, understand that we\u2019re committed to the city just as the city is committed to us?\u201d Smith wondered. \u201cThe research is really embedded in town and gown. Making sure universities truly become a part of the town, which is a powerful model as well as a powerful draw.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Smith believed that this new department needed to have the word \u201cservice\u201d in the name and what originally started on a napkin, the Center for Service was born. \u201cWhenever the thinking happens, it has to be put down. I drafted the outline and the concept on a napkin to begin development of programming for the CFS,\u201d Smith recalled.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the Wednesday prior to the Martin Luther King holiday in January 2019, The Center for Service officially began. This was also the time of the National Day of Service and was a time for new service beginnings for the University.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Service has always been a part of 大象传媒 Western. The seal itself has service as one of its key values: to share the common purpose of serving students, one another and the people of the region. It is not a new concept to the university; however, students now have the opportunity to earn college credit while serving in the community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Center for Service was introduced to the students and the community in fall 2020, after beta testing in the spring and summer. There was a need for creative ways to serve the community as COVID-19 played a large factor in limiting volunteering opportunities as well as changing the on-campus environment to remote learning and availability of students to serve.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Students could choose from several opportunities and activities that had been pre-selected by the Center. Many nonprofit and school organizations were shuttered to in-person volunteers and remote volunteering were new unique options that became available. American Red Cross\u2019 disaster relief efforts, Youth Alliance\u2019s CanStructure, South End Disaster Relief, Second Harvest City- Wide Food Drive and Mosaic Life Care Foundation\u2019s emPowerU after-school program were just a few of the pre-selected opportunities students could choose from the business partners that the Center had already reached out to assist. In addition, students could choose their own service activity; from here in St. Joseph to their own community at home, as long as it follows in line with service to the community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kim Sigrist \u201993, the Center\u2019s current director, was approached by 大象传媒 Western\u2019s president, Dr. Kennedy, to lead the department. Kennedy was aware of Sigrist\u2019s long-time involvement with the University and in the community. Sigrist and Kennedy, with backing from the Board of Governors, knew this program needed to continue to be a priority and wanted to see the Center succeed despite the challenge with COVID-19.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A shift was beginning to happen where not only was there a need in the community, but with the students on campus as well. Sigrist saw the need to connect with students and provide them with engagement that they were missing out on because of the unprecedented school year. She took this opportunity to really introduce the students to ways that they could serve.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The first chance to connect with students in person and through social media was Random Acts of Kindness week in February 2021. The goal was not just to earn credit but to serve. Opportunities consisted of bringing to light the current service efforts on campus such as the three Big Brother, Big Sister donation bins on campus, Habitat for Humanity aluminum can recycling drop-off location and donating to the Campus Cupboard. There was also a station to paint kindness rocks to give away or place on campus, a station to write a note of thanks to someone influential in one\u2019s life and Pay it Forward Day where students were encouraged to surprise someone with an act of kindness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Several pop-up opportunities in Blum Union had also been well received by students throughout the semester. \u201cThese are simple little tasks that we can engage with the students as they are walking through the Union to do small little acts of service or kindness in the community and start to build that relationship with the students to hopefully make inroads where they want to do more volunteerism and do bigger things as they go along,\u201d Sigrist stated. Writing notes of appreciation for National Caregivers Day, assembling bags of candies for Nurse Appreciation Day, coloring bookmarks for Drop Everything and Read Day and United Way\u2019s summer reading program are just a few of the projects that were opportunities to reach students who wouldn\u2019t otherwise go and look for service opportunities on their own.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Erica Dunn \u201921 was one of the first students to beta test the program by signing up and completing three service credits. \u201cI really enjoy and value community service, and earning school credits seems like a win-win situation,\u201d Dunn said. She focused her service with children and spent the majority of her service hours through Mosaic Lifecare Foundation\u2019s emPowerU program. She served at their summer camps but was also able to help throughout the school year, namely hosting their emPowerU television segments. \u201cI learned that I have a really intense passion for serving and working for others. When I started serving, I was less sure about what I wanted my career to look like. As I went on, I really began to understand that I wanted my career to look like serving and filling a need.\u201d Dunn\u2019s overall experience has been positive and leaves with a message to future Griffons about serving: \u201c大象传媒 Western has given students a unique opportunity to not only serve their community, but to be able to recognize the needs around them and be empowered to do something about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Where does the Center for Service go from here? Where is its place in the community and on campus? \u201cAs opportunities are starting to open up more, finding additional partnerships in the community, continuing to build relationships with our students and to educate them about what the Center for Service does and the opportunities that are out there in the community\u201d is where Sigrist wants to direct her focus. \u201cThere will be programming this fall to draw attention and educate our students about social issues that affect, not only our community but other communities, and highlight some of those areas to educate [students] so they can find where their passion is to volunteer.\u201d Homelessness, food insecurity, animal welfare and rescue are a few of the topics that will be key issues.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Center for Service has also created a G.I.V.E. (Griffons in Volunteer Efforts) team. The goal <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is to partner internally with clubs, organizations, teams and staff to share resources and show <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">大象传媒 Western as a whole the impact that is made within the community. As part of this combination of efforts, the Student Government Association has moved the Griffs Give Back program to the Center for Service suite to work together for service needs. There will always be a need to serve the community. There is also a need to educate new generations about what opportunities are out there in the community and to encourage students to serve after graduation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Smith emotionally reflects about the department a year after her retirement: \u201cIt gives me great joy to know that\u2019s my alma mater, that\u2019s where I worked, that\u2019s where I was privileged to develop a program with collaboration and input from many, many smart people. [The Center for Service] will continue to grow, way beyond what I wrote down on that napkin in fall 2019 what the team did in terms of the operational workflow, and far beyond what the curriculum is to focus on 大象传媒 Western\u2019s value of service.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2013 Contributed by Jennifer Stover<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-1{width:75% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 20px;}.fusion-builder-column-1 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 2.56%;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 2.56%;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-1{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-1 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-1{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-1 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-2 fusion_builder_column_1_4 1_4 fusion-flex-column\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><div ><span class=\" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-1 hover-type-none\"><img width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" alt=\"Kim Sigrist sits at a table behind several boxes of donated food.\" title=\"20210316_130904\" src=\"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2021\/08\/20210316_130904-scaled-e1629388911286.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-image-5491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2021\/08\/20210316_130904-scaled-e1629388911286-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2021\/08\/20210316_130904-scaled-e1629388911286-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2021\/08\/20210316_130904-scaled-e1629388911286-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2021\/08\/20210316_130904-scaled-e1629388911286-800x800.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2021\/08\/20210316_130904-scaled-e1629388911286-1200x1200.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2021\/08\/20210316_130904-scaled-e1629388911286.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/span><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\" style=\"transform:translate3d(0,0,0);\"><p>Kim Sigrist \u201993, director of the Center for Service, collects donations for the Campus Cupboard.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-2{width:25% !important;margin-top : 0px;margin-bottom : 20px;}.fusion-builder-column-2 > .fusion-column-wrapper {padding-top : 0px !important;padding-right : 0px !important;margin-right : 7.68%;padding-bottom : 0px !important;padding-left : 0px !important;margin-left : 7.68%;}@media only screen and (max-width:1024px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-2{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-2 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}@media only screen and (max-width:640px) {.fusion-body .fusion-builder-column-2{width:100% !important;order : 0;}.fusion-builder-column-2 > .fusion-column-wrapper {margin-right : 1.92%;margin-left : 1.92%;}}<\/style><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column 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