Students spend time with elderly on King holiday.

JSU students remember Dr. King through service

Volunteers visit elderly, serve meals

By: Jessica Bays

Posted: 1/23/09

In celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Helping Hands Day, students from Jackson State University remembered the life and achievements of Dr. King the one way they knew best-through service.

On Monday, Jan. 19 volunteers with the Community Service/Service Learning Center and other organizations on campus took time out from their holiday to spend time with the elderly at Community Nursing Home. They also served meals and sorted clothes at the Community Stewpot.

Some of the students took time to reflect on the life of Dr. King , who not only fought for justice, peace and the rights of all citizens, but was also committed to a life of service.

"I felt like today being Martin Luther King Day was a day of giving back," said Schafer Sherrer, a senior speech/dramatic arts major from Vineland, NJ. "He did so much for us so I woke up and felt like I should do something for the community. It's not all about getting paid. It's about helping somebody else."

Carla Hammond, a senior early childcare major from Jackson, Miss. agreed. "Any experience in helping someone else and giving back is always a joyful experience. I always encourage people to help others because it may be you or any other family member who needs help so you want to help others and do unto them as you would have them do unto you."

Hammond, who is part of Americorps Campus Link, played bingo and talked to nursing home elders as they shared with her and other volunteers stories from their past. In turn, each of the volunteers talked about their ambitions and goals in life as they shared what Dr. King's achievements and struggle for equality meant to them.
"It's a good inter-generational activity," said Kathryn Crook, Coordinator and Activity Director of Community Nursing Home. "Students have gained a lot of wisdom and knowledge from the elders and developed friendships. It gives them an opportunity to share of their time and allows them to develop concern and care for others."

Tim Abram, assistant director of the CSSLC, said that community service has many benefits for students including leadership, increasing social skills, and heightening awareness about diversity issues in society.

"One of the main goals of the CSSLC is to get students exposed to issues in the society, and to let others out there in the community know that JSU is here for them," said Abram.

Jay Ward, a senior speech communications major from Vicksburg, Miss., felt that community service is very important and that everyone should make time to volunteer. The help he has received in the past from others was one of the reasons he decided to attend Jackson State.

"I have always have had a passion for volunteering and I feel like others can get out and do more because if you get five people to reach out to every place in Jackson then it'll spread and then all the people in Jackson can reach out to someone else in Mississippi," said Ward. "Then it could spread from state to state and eventually cover the whole world."