{"id":55667,"date":"2019-01-22T10:12:56","date_gmt":"2019-01-22T15:12:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=55667"},"modified":"2019-01-22T15:12:20","modified_gmt":"2019-01-22T20:12:20","slug":"helping-hands-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2019\/01\/22\/helping-hands-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping hands"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Kinsey Adkins collect toys and other items for children at Michael\u2019s House, a Fairborn organization that supports children who have been victims of abuse, as part of her First-Year Seminar course.<\/p><\/div>\n

The pivotal moment for Wright State University freshman Brooklyn Wolfe came as she and her friends had finished helping provide meals for the homeless in downtown Columbus.<\/p>\n

Wolfe was handed a roll of trash bags and asked to distribute them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are used as closets for the homeless. That is where they keep all of their clothes and hygiene products,\u201d she said. \u201cAs I walked up to the homeless people individually, seeing how grateful they were just for a trash bag broke my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pivotal moment for fellow student Luis Alomar came when he volunteered at BOGG Ministries, a Miamisburg nonprofit that provides food, clothing and other essentials to the needy. Alomar and his family had been helped by that very organization when he was a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like not only did they benefit from it, but so did I,\u201d he said. \u201cI explained to the people at one point this was me, so I understood what they went through.\u201d<\/p>\n

These \u201cpivotal moments\u201d were the sudden realization of how desperate the need can be among the poor and the homeless and how even the smallest generosity can make a huge difference.<\/p>\n

The moments were a byproduct of a UVC 1010: First-Year Seminar<\/a>, a course for incoming first-year students. The course is designed to help them quickly connect to campus, make friends who become part of a support system and give them the tools for academic success.<\/p>\n

But Joyce Winters, an academic adviser who instructs a seminar for pre-nursing students, said it teaches the students more than just how to succeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese students are beginning their higher educational path by learning to advocate for themselves and others, be accountable for their success and become people of action,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is important to encourage them to be self-reflective and develop a value system that will support their academic and personal goals, especially in the field of health care.\u201d<\/p>\n

The students\u2019 final project fall semester was to select an organization to support in the form of volunteer hours, donations or projects. The students had to show how the organization benefited from their service and what the students gained from the experience.<\/p>\n

The students volunteered at places such as Miami Valley Hospital, the Humane Society, the Ronald McDonald House and other organizations.<\/p>\n

Kinsey Adkins volunteered at Michael\u2019s House, a Fairborn organization that supports children who have been victims of abuse. Not only did Adkins collect toys and other items for the children, but she also got family members and businesses to do the same.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Halie Harner decided to become a first-time blood donor, at the Community Blood Center in Dayton.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI hope this is just the start for me on donating and volunteering to not only kids but to adults and elders that are in need of help,\u201d she said. \u201cThis project was very eye-opening to me and easily one of my favorite projects throughout my school year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Halie Harner decided to become a first-time blood donor, at the Community Blood Center in Dayton. She said the best thing about it was getting \u201cthat phone call\u201d later from the blood center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe phone call tells you that you saved someone\u2019s life today,\u201d she said. \u201cDoing this project taught me to put others needs before my own. I really had no time to donate, but this project made me make time to help some one\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kalynn Rose donated time and raised money to help find a cure for ALS, a devastating neurodegenerative disease that had afflicted her grandfather. Allison Armstrong helped start a Bible study group at the Brethren\u2019s Retirement Community in Greenville.<\/p>\n

Winters said she was really impressed by the sustainable impact the project had on the students and the organizations they served.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost were genuinely surprised by the difference they made and how much they enjoyed the experience,\u201d she said. \u201cThey found that even though they thought they \u2018have no time,\u2019 they now want to make giving back an ongoing priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wolfe, who volunteered at Under the Stars to help the homeless in Columbus, plans to increase her volunteer activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis experience was so eye-opening and truly taught me that I can make a difference in the world and that I can inspire others to do the same,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First-year students gained valuable community service opportunities as part of a First-Year Seminar course. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":55677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,2025,725,715,2117,2119,2061,4316],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-community-service","category-home-news-sidebar","category-news","category-service-learning-and-civic-engagement","category-university-college","category-undergraduate","category-university-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55667"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55676,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55667\/revisions\/55676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}