Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Kids
While serving with America Reads, I've learned a lot about myself and how my community works. But the best part of my experience is the kids. They want you to help them. They want you to be their friend. They wonder what you've been up to since they've seen you last. They can be as invested in you as you are with them. I really want everyone to know what a wonderful feeling it is to help. Kids may not be your thing but if you can serve do it and do it now. You'll never regret your service!
Civically Surprised
I was surprised to learn today that for the past 5 months I have been civically engaged. I am currently employed as a research assistant at the Great Salt Lake Institute. I have been paid to learn how to conduct scientific research on the Great Salt Lake. My job has taught me a lot about the Great Salt Lake and about collaborating with others. Civic engagement isn’t such a bad thing at all.
- Jo Tietze, Westminster Senior
- Jo Tietze, Westminster Senior
Big Brother Big Sister
Alexx Goeller
I have been a part of the Big Brother/Big Sister program for two years now and it has been such a rewarding experience!! I spend a couple of hours a week with my "little sister," Jayda. She is incredible. She has such an infectious zest for life. I feel that she teaches me more than I teach her. I would recommend this program to anyone looking to really make a difference in a young chlid's life.
I have been a part of the Big Brother/Big Sister program for two years now and it has been such a rewarding experience!! I spend a couple of hours a week with my "little sister," Jayda. She is incredible. She has such an infectious zest for life. I feel that she teaches me more than I teach her. I would recommend this program to anyone looking to really make a difference in a young chlid's life.
Recycle Bottle Caps
Eric Nielsen & Nichole Rose
Project Proposal: Recycling Bottle Caps with Aveda Salon
Our Plan of Action
Receptacle Placement:
We will be placing receptacles in front of the library with the cluster of bins. Another placement will be with the recycling bins by the north east door of the Shaw building. Lastly, we will place a receptacle in HWAC by the recycling bins there. These receptacles will be collected weekly and taken to Aveda Salon which is at 1298 East 900 South Salt Lake City by a member of our group. Eric Nielsen will maintain a constant campus presence through the summer because of his work on campus and summer semester classes.
Hundred Dollar Challenge:
For the hundred dollar challenge fund, we plan to use the money to either construct or purchase receptacle bins for the three buildings with appropriate signage and advertisement for this campus supported drive. We will also be participating in the Earth day celebration on Campus with a table with information about the program.
The Environmental Concern
Aveda found that a majority of plastic bottle caps do not get recycled today.
Often these caps end up as litter or trash and migrate into our rivers and oceans. Birds and other marine creatures mistake them for food with tragic results. The magnitude of this pollution problem is devastating to our oceans and wildlife. An example of this is the Plastic Garbage Patches that are gyrating in our oceans and photo-degrading the plastic into polymers that outnumber the plankton 6 to 1.
What type of caps do we collect?
The program accepts caps that are rigid polypropylene plastic, sometimes noted with a 5 in the chasing arrows recycling symbol. This includes caps that twist on with a threaded neck such as caps on shampoo, water, soda, milk and other beverage bottles, flip top caps on tubes and food product bottles (such as ketchup and mayonnaise), laundry detergents and some jar lids such as peanut butter.
Why can’t bottle caps be recycled with the bottles?
Plastic bottle caps are made from a type of plastic called polypropylene. Plastic bottles, on the other hand, are usually made from a different kind of plastic called polyethylene terepthalate, or number one and PET. Polypropylene, the number-five plastic bottle caps can be made into things like garden rakes, brooms, and ice scrapers, usually sturdy things.
Project reflection
The programs debut at Westminster’s Earth Day Celebration was received well. A majority of those I spoke to were unaware that bottle caps have to be processed separately. They were surprised to learn that the recycling program in Salt Lake City separates the bottle cap from the bottle and throws them away. The ultimate resting place is in the land fill. We handed out almost 100 paper bags for people to take home and fill with bottle caps, once full they can deposit the bag in one of the recycling bins. I, along with another student have pledged to send the bottle caps to Aveda until our graduation in June 2011. It is our hope that we can pass the project on to the next generation Westminster students.
Project Proposal: Recycling Bottle Caps with Aveda Salon
Our Plan of Action
Receptacle Placement:
We will be placing receptacles in front of the library with the cluster of bins. Another placement will be with the recycling bins by the north east door of the Shaw building. Lastly, we will place a receptacle in HWAC by the recycling bins there. These receptacles will be collected weekly and taken to Aveda Salon which is at 1298 East 900 South Salt Lake City by a member of our group. Eric Nielsen will maintain a constant campus presence through the summer because of his work on campus and summer semester classes.
Hundred Dollar Challenge:
For the hundred dollar challenge fund, we plan to use the money to either construct or purchase receptacle bins for the three buildings with appropriate signage and advertisement for this campus supported drive. We will also be participating in the Earth day celebration on Campus with a table with information about the program.
The Environmental Concern
Aveda found that a majority of plastic bottle caps do not get recycled today.
Often these caps end up as litter or trash and migrate into our rivers and oceans. Birds and other marine creatures mistake them for food with tragic results. The magnitude of this pollution problem is devastating to our oceans and wildlife. An example of this is the Plastic Garbage Patches that are gyrating in our oceans and photo-degrading the plastic into polymers that outnumber the plankton 6 to 1.
What type of caps do we collect?
The program accepts caps that are rigid polypropylene plastic, sometimes noted with a 5 in the chasing arrows recycling symbol. This includes caps that twist on with a threaded neck such as caps on shampoo, water, soda, milk and other beverage bottles, flip top caps on tubes and food product bottles (such as ketchup and mayonnaise), laundry detergents and some jar lids such as peanut butter.
Why can’t bottle caps be recycled with the bottles?
Plastic bottle caps are made from a type of plastic called polypropylene. Plastic bottles, on the other hand, are usually made from a different kind of plastic called polyethylene terepthalate, or number one and PET. Polypropylene, the number-five plastic bottle caps can be made into things like garden rakes, brooms, and ice scrapers, usually sturdy things.
Project reflection
The programs debut at Westminster’s Earth Day Celebration was received well. A majority of those I spoke to were unaware that bottle caps have to be processed separately. They were surprised to learn that the recycling program in Salt Lake City separates the bottle cap from the bottle and throws them away. The ultimate resting place is in the land fill. We handed out almost 100 paper bags for people to take home and fill with bottle caps, once full they can deposit the bag in one of the recycling bins. I, along with another student have pledged to send the bottle caps to Aveda until our graduation in June 2011. It is our hope that we can pass the project on to the next generation Westminster students.
Working for the Great Salt Lake Institute
Hey! I'm Hatley and for the past year I've been working for the Great Salt Lake Institute, a small nonprofit that shares an office with the Center for Civic Engagement. I've loved the opportunity to teach people about the lake and the connections their community has to it. I've helped to connect people with internships, study experiences, and volunteer opportunities. And I've had fun playing on paddle boards and taking water samples, too! I couldn't think of a better way to give back.
Hatley Laughridge
Hatley Laughridge
Earth Day and Westminster Students on the News!
Check out Fox 13's story on Earth Day, featuring Westminster's environmental activists:
http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-westminster-earth-day-day-early,0,2809295.story
http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-westminster-earth-day-day-early,0,2809295.story
Mr. Teeth's Homeless Dental Relief
Our first primary goal of our SLICE Project was to improve the homeless community’s oral health. This might seem like an ambitious goal for Westminster Pre-Dentistry students, but with the team that we have, anything is possible! To accomplish this, we fundraised 550 dental kits from local doctors. After fundraising, we partnered up with the Social Science Club and held a service project at Pioneer Park. We distributed 47 dental kits and 46 sandwiches to the local homeless community.
Our second goal was to increase the homelessness awareness amongst the Westminster College community. To accomplish this, we set up a table in Shaw Center and taught the campus about homelessness in Utah. This was a great event and allowed us to fundraise $140 for our cause. After this, we partnered up with Habitat for Humanity to fundraise money for both our causes at their on campus Flee Market. At this event, we fundraised another $20 from the Westminster community. All fundraised money went towards more dental supplies for the homeless.
Left over Dental Kits: 250 of the Dental Kits will be going to Thailand with a Westminster Service Group to help improve Thailand’s oral health. The remaining 250 will be distributed throughout our local homeless community by Mr. Teeth and his team of Pre-Dentistry volunteers!
Future Plans!: Our SLICE Project was only the beginning. Mr. Teeth’s Homeless Dental Relief will be a fully operating NPO or NGO by the end of 2010! WE cannot stop after the amazing response we received from the local community. Without the SLICE Program, we would never have been able to get this idea off the ground. Now, after only one semester, we’re ready to improve our community’s oral health is a very big way!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Dialogue on Sexual Violence
Last week, CEC held a Dialogue on Sexual Violence. One student described the event perfectly:
"The Community Dialogue on Sexual Violence was an excellent space to discuss barriers, myths, and strategies surrounding sexual violence. However, a much more moving part of the dialogue came from the profound support strangers gave each other. It was inspiring to see people giving talking with hope and compassion. The Dialogue proved to me that there will always be support in one way or another for survivors of sexual violence." - Stacy Blaylock
"The Community Dialogue on Sexual Violence was an excellent space to discuss barriers, myths, and strategies surrounding sexual violence. However, a much more moving part of the dialogue came from the profound support strangers gave each other. It was inspiring to see people giving talking with hope and compassion. The Dialogue proved to me that there will always be support in one way or another for survivors of sexual violence." - Stacy Blaylock
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The World's Deep Needs Outside the Classroom
Westminster students with Beacon Height Elementary students Great Salt Lake Fall semester 2008
True vocation joins service and self. The deepest vocational question is not "What ought I to do with my life?" It is the more elemental and demanding "Who am I?"
~Palmer Parker
~Palmer Parker
Palmer Parker--writer, teacher, activist, and named as one of the 30 most influential senior leaders in higher education--offers the question How do you find the right work?
Often times leaving the walls of a classroom and entering into community, neighborhoods, and landscapes free of white boards and PowerPoint presentations gives students a deeper glimpse into the world cradling their college experience.
Westminster students partnered with a group of 6th grade students on the shores of the Great Salt Lake for a writing workshop connected with the Common Ground read, which is a book read by all in-coming freshman. This year the book was Refuge, by Terry Tempest Williams.
Both groups benefited from a day spent "outside of the classroom" where the strong smell of salt and deep learning were present.
Conversations about the lake, education, and the writing process, taught all of the students about landscapes of the self.
Vanessa Jordan (middle) a freshman from Arizona, returned to Beacon Heights spring semester 2009 on her own. Even though this service is within a mile of our campus, Vanessa's reasons for returning are large:
- She is observing children for fieldwork in her psychology class
- She is also enrolled in a service-learning class
- She wants to help meet the needs of a classroom of all-day kindergartners
Another kindergartner--Sabine says "Vanessa helps me to build. She gives me contests and helps me know what to do. She makes school exciting."
Perhaps some say bigger things need to happen with service like larger outcomes, more international outreach, and more attention on meeting the needs of at-risk groups. But Vanessa has quietly found a way to meet the deep needs of the world when she exits the college-classroom and enters a classroom filled with possibilities every Tuesday and Thursday morning. She teaches small students how to be engaged, as she herself is engaged at Westminster College. Being out of the classroom, Vanessa has defined who she is by what she is doing.
In her own words, Vanessa writes about her experiences outside the classroom:
I was introduced to the student’s of
I decided to come back the next semester to aide the kindergarten classroom. This opportunity was provided from both my Developmental Psychology class and my Service Learning class. I am a Developmental Psychology major and was able to observe and interact with the Kindergarten students. I have noticed that there is something so special about children’s influence on people. These children are extremely bright and welcoming. Everyday I am able to go to the classroom I feel uplifted by their presence. I have realized that being in children’s company is something that I feel I would like to do in my career. From the Kindergartner’s I have learned just how simple it is to feel happy and I have found that their happiness stays with me throughout the day.
Fredrick Buechner defines vocation as the place where your "deep gladness meets the world's deep needs."
~posted by Leslie Robbins and Vanessa Jordan
Friday, March 13, 2009
Service Learning Scholars Stephani, Joyce, Tina, and Teri reflect on thier service last year:
Stephanie Woodward volunteers at St. Marks Hospital ER (07-08):
“I love having the power to do little things to make somebody’s day better. I love helping people in our community and I hope that someday I can help make people’s days in all different parts of the world…I feel like my continual involvement in service is helping me to grow as a person and to become more aware.”
Joyce Morales describes her experience volunteering to serve food to the homeless on “Homeless Breakfast Day” (07-08):
“[I]t surprised me how some people did not appear homeless. I think a good quarter of the people could pass as middle-income persons. In addition, their attitude was mainly positive perhaps because they were anxious to get a warm meal. Then I wondered [about] the possibility that this was their only meal that day or ever for a few days. This is when I realized what a privileged and spoiled life I have lived. How much I take for granted, such as a simple meal that I usually have three times a day.”
Tina Clark talks about making knit hats for babies at Primary Children’s Hospital:
“All around the world there are babies and children that don’t have enough warm clothing and when I think about these hats, I know I can make a difference. My difference to the world is small, I know, but it is helpful and it is for now, all I can do. I am happy to know that I am doing my best to help other people’s lives. People I have never met.”
(we could use one of Tina's pictures as well)
Teri Elliott explains the many benefits of volunteering at St. Marks Hospital (07-08):
“This volunteering position has provided me with many opportunities in addition to service. I have been able to become friends with some of the nurses. One nurse, Early, I am really close with and she allows me to come in and watch some of her work with the patients. The other day, for instance, she let me come in and watch her give a patient and IV and draw blood. This was really cool because I want to go into medicine and haven’t seen these kings of things very much.”
For more information about the Service Lerning Scholar Program visit http://www.westminstercollege.edu/civic_engagement/ and click on "service-learning."
~edited by AP
Stephanie Woodward volunteers at St. Marks Hospital ER (07-08):
“I love having the power to do little things to make somebody’s day better. I love helping people in our community and I hope that someday I can help make people’s days in all different parts of the world…I feel like my continual involvement in service is helping me to grow as a person and to become more aware.”
Joyce Morales describes her experience volunteering to serve food to the homeless on “Homeless Breakfast Day” (07-08):
“[I]t surprised me how some people did not appear homeless. I think a good quarter of the people could pass as middle-income persons. In addition, their attitude was mainly positive perhaps because they were anxious to get a warm meal. Then I wondered [about] the possibility that this was their only meal that day or ever for a few days. This is when I realized what a privileged and spoiled life I have lived. How much I take for granted, such as a simple meal that I usually have three times a day.”
Tina Clark talks about making knit hats for babies at Primary Children’s Hospital:
“All around the world there are babies and children that don’t have enough warm clothing and when I think about these hats, I know I can make a difference. My difference to the world is small, I know, but it is helpful and it is for now, all I can do. I am happy to know that I am doing my best to help other people’s lives. People I have never met.”
(we could use one of Tina's pictures as well)
Teri Elliott explains the many benefits of volunteering at St. Marks Hospital (07-08):
“This volunteering position has provided me with many opportunities in addition to service. I have been able to become friends with some of the nurses. One nurse, Early, I am really close with and she allows me to come in and watch some of her work with the patients. The other day, for instance, she let me come in and watch her give a patient and IV and draw blood. This was really cool because I want to go into medicine and haven’t seen these kings of things very much.”
For more information about the Service Lerning Scholar Program visit http://www.westminstercollege.edu/civic_engagement/ and click on "service-learning."
~edited by AP
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