East Carolina
A Pirate’s Guide to
®
Service
UNIVERSITY
A publication of the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center
Plunge into Service
ECU~READS/WRITES/ COUNTS
Blimey—we’re surrounded by Pirates once again! Ahoy to you me hearties, and welcome back. With this new academic year comes new service opportunities created just for you. Below be a preview of what’s in store for 2010-11. Learn more at www.ecu.edu/vslc— fairwinds on yer journey.
Over the past six years, East Carolina students have been working with local elementary schools to help students struggling with their school work. Today, this program has become ECU~READS/WRITES/COUNTS. ECU WRITES runs like a pen pal program; pairing children with ECU students to write letters back and forth, putting their lessons to work in the letters they write. Coordinated by Quintara Jernigan and Tara Powell, ECU volunteers write one letter a week to a student at a local school on a topic relevant to their schoolwork.
Campus Kitchen at ECU: Volunteers are needed for weekly cooking and delivery shifts for the Ronald McDonald House and Little Willie Center. 9/11 National Day of Service: Remembrance activities and service benefitting Give2theTroops will take place across campus. Registration coming soon! Fall T.R.I.P.S.: Travel and meet new people while you serve communities in need. Destinations and registration will be announced in the coming weeks. Blood Drives: Help us reach our collection of goal of 3000 pints during the academic year. Look on page 3 for upcoming blood drives and helpful donor tips. New Community Partners: We’ve added more than a dozen new community partners to the 2010-2011 Service Opportunities Guide. Pick up your copy today in the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center.
ECU READS and COUNTS works with three locations to tutor children in literacy and math. ECU students are paired with local children based on their availability during the school day (8-2). Volunteers tutor twice a week for thirty minutes, giving the students one on one help in their studies. Jade Shields, Thomas Royal and Mike Kratzer work together to coordinate this program. Interested in volunteering? Contact the Volunteer and Service Learning Center at 252-737-1669 or come by room 1635 of the Old Cafeteria Complex. You can also visit them online at www.ecu.edu/vslc, and click on the link at the left, or email then at ecureads@gmail.com or ecuwrites@gmail.com.
Page Two
Page Three
Page Four
Volunteer Spotlight On the CKECU Student Leadership Team
Rocking Horse Ranch 2010/2011 Blood Drive Update
Calendar of VSLC Upcoming Events
A Pirate’s Guide to Service Page 2
East Carolina University
Volunteer Spotlight
CKECU Leadership Team Spotlight Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger. One out of eight children under the age of twelve in the United States goes to bed hungry every night. More than 30% of the population of Pitt county are living in poverty. Are these statistics that make you want to do something? They were for nine East Carolina University students. Together, these students make up the new Campus Kitchen at ECU Leadership Team. They are working together to run the CKECU, a program which takes excess food from the dining halls on campus and distributes it to those who need it most.
Who is the Leadership Team? The leadership is a group of students who wanted to play a more active role in the CKECU. Charisse Stevens and Sarah Schach are returning members from last year’s leadership team. New this year are Lana Nasrallah, LaDonna Maddy, Shoneice Sconyers, Stacey Bala, April Sharp, Krystal McCullen and Katie Crifasi. These students come from very different backgrounds. They range from sophomore to graduate student; social work majors to a double major in chemistry and biology. Their backgrounds are different and their plans for the future vary, but they all share something in common; the desire to serve. What does the Leadership Team do? The leadership team members volunteer their time and talents every week, running shifts in Todd dining hall to make the Campus Kitchen possible. They are training to lead shifts of volunteers to prepare and then serve meals to members of the community who are in need. They are learning valuable skills while making a difference in the local community. LaDonna Maddy feels she has learned a lot in her first few weeks as a member of the Leadership Team. She says, “I feel like I’ve done something good and I’ve accomplished something when I leave a shift.”
Why volunteer? Why do these students volunteer time out of their busy schedules? Senior social work major Krystal McCullen knows the answer for herself. “I want to serve because I live here and hate seeing the poverty and helplessness around the ECU community. Campus Kitchen is a great way to reach out to the malnourished and hungry men, women, and children because everyone has to eat.” These students aren’t just getting a degree during their time at ECU, they are making the world a better place. Want to get involved? To volunteer with the Campus Kitchen at East Carolina University contact Katie Winn in the Volunteer and Service Learning Center at 737-1670. You can also stop by 1610 in the Old Cafeteria Complex, or sign up for shifts online at http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/47-622248858119.
“The outrage of hunger amidst plenty will never be solved by “experts” somewhere. It will only be solved when people like you and me decide to act.” -Frances Moore Lappe
Community Partner Profile East Carolina University
Rocking Horse Ranch
After a morning bath, one of Rocking Horse Ranch’s therapy horses gets up close and personal with the VSLC camera!
A Pirate’s Guide to Service Page 3
Rocking Horse Ranch Therapeutic Riding Program is a not-for-profit organization founded by Eileen Van Houten in 1991. The organization provides equine assisted activities and equine assisted therapy (HPOT) to children and adults with a variety of physical, cognitive, and psychological disabilities. The ultimate goal of the program is to improve each rider’s quality of life so that they can become more independent, productive, and active members of the community. Students who elect to serve at Rocking Horse Ranch Therapeutic Riding Program are asked to serve at least one hour per week for the duration of the semester. Volunteers and service-learning students are welcome; students with no horse experience can participate in riding lessons as side-walkers, perform general barn or grounds maintenance, provide horse care, and support special events. Students with requisite horse experience can try out to be horse leaders. Students, faculty and staff interested in serving at Rocking Horse Ranch must attend a training session, offered only once each semester. The fall 2010 training date is Saturday, September 11 at 10:00 a.m. More information is available on Rocking Horse Ranch’s Website at www.rhrnc. com.
Fall 2010 Blood Drives Every minute of every day someone needs blood. You can become part of a Pirate tradition by donating blood at an on campus blood drive. It’s a sure-fire way to prove that your blood runs purple and gold, and, your donation saves lives! So get ready to roll up your sleeves because fall blood drives begin September 1. Wednesday, September 1, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sweethearts Dining Room, Todd Tuesday, September 28, 12 - 6 p.m. Campus Towers Thursday, September 30, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. Student Recreation Center Students who successfully donate a pint of blood can submit a time sheet to the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center for volunteer hours. If you are unable to donate blood, consider becoming a blood drive sponsor. Sponsorship is a great service opportunity for student organizations and residence halls. If you’re interested in learning more about sponsoring an on campus blood drive, contact Will Thomas, ECU’s Student Blood Drive Coordinator at thomasw09@students.ecu.edu.
Calendar of Upcoming Events
A Pirate’s Guide to Service Page 4
Blood Drives When: Wednesday,September 1, 11 am - 5 pm Where: Sweethearts Dining Room, Todd When: Tuesday, September 28, 12 - 6 pm Where: Campus Towers When: Thursday, September 30, 8 am - 2 pm Where: Student Rec. Center - Health 1000 Blood Challenge When: Wednesday, October 13, 11 am - 5 pm Where: Harvey Hall - Student Pirate Club vs. Student Wolfpack Club When: Wednesday, December 1, TBA Where: Volunteer and Service-Learning Center, Old Cafeteria Complex 2010 Tar River Arthritis Walk Saturday, September 25th @ 7:00am-2pm at the Town Commons Contact Marsha Griffin at 252-714-9044 or arthritiswalk@ carolina-arthritis.com Volunteers will be setting up tables and chairs, cleaning up and putting up chairs, and other miscellaneous task. Campus Kitchen Monday, September 13 from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. To sign up visit the link below: http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/47622248858119. Volunteers will meet in Todd Dining Hall to prepare and deliver a meal to the Ronald McDonald House. Campus Kitchen Wednesday, September 22 from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. To sign up visit the link below: http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/47622248858119. Volunteers will meet in Todd Dining Hall to prepare and deliver a meal to the Little Willie Center. For additional volunteer opportunities, visit the VSLC Calendar of Events at www.ecu.edu/vslc.
Campus Kitchen coordinator Katie Winn (center) models new Teach. Reach. Feed. Lead. t-shirts with Quin Jernigan and Thomas Royal, 2010/2011 ECU~READS/ WRITES/COUNTS coordinators.
Blood Donation Fact Every minute of every day someone needs blood. There is no substitution for it. However, only 3 out of every 100 people in America currently donate blood. Just one pint of your blood can save 3 lives. Be the difference- Save a life. Source: American Red Cross
August Edition 2010
Judy Baker, Institutional and Community Development Consultant Jessica Gagne Cloutier, Service-Learning Coordinator Michael Loeffelman, Volunteer Coordinator Volunteer and Service-Learning Center Old Cafeteria Complex Shawn Moore, Community Partner Coordinator 252-328-2735 (phone) 252-328-0139 (fax) Alice Tyson, Office Manager www.ecu.edu/vslc vslc@ecu.edu Katie Winn, AmeriCorps*Vista Member