Service Week intends to create opportunities
There’s something for everyone to contribute to and do at Service Week, a week currently in process devoted to major and minor service projects at Utah State University, said Ashlee Blohm, director of Community Partnerships at the Val R. Christensen Service Center.
“We have a lot going on, but it’s not just huge projects. There will be smaller projects in the TSC that students can work on if they have a minute between classes and help students to ‘Rise to the Challenge,’ which is the theme of Service Week,” said Blohm, senior in psychology and communication disorders.
Service Week began Monday and will have multiple events every day until Saturday, Blohm said.
There will be a service kick-off breakfast in the TSC from 8:30-10:30 a.m. Monday. Monday is the day the Blood Battle against Weber State University begins and it will run through Friday. A putting competition will be taking place at the Willows Golf Course from 6-11 p.m. Games for this event cost $1 each and all proceeds go to Molly Rising, a project funded by Aggies for Africa. Earlier on Monday and running through Tuesday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., Students Teaching Arithmetic and Reading (STAR), in correspondence with a group of volunteers through the Service Center called Storytellers who read stories to children from age three to 10, will be working on a project in the TSC putting together games and other items to send to an orphanage, Blohm said.
On Tuesday, Best Buddies and United Campus Volunteers (UCV) will start the day with a foursquare competition with the buddies on the TSC plaza from noon until 2 p.m. Community Partnerships will be heading up random acts of kindness in apartments, such as taking out trash and cleaning dishes, in a dorm-storming fashion, from 5-7 p.m. Those wishing to participate should meet in the stadium parking lot, Blohm said.
“We just want to go into apartments to give small acts of service. We need to get everybody’s dishes washed,” she said.
“Supersize Me” will be shown by the Service Center Tuesday night in the TSC Ballroom, Blohm said.
“Wednesday is our big day with a lot of different events happening,” she said.
Wednesday starts with three groups in the center combining to tie up all the quilting the Service Center has to offer. The groups Gear-Up, PALS and STICKS will quilt in the Sunburst Lounge from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and send their projects to various places. The Special Olympics will be hosting kickball on the Quad from 10:30 a.m. until noon. A swap meet will also be held on the Quad from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Aggie Recycling and Service Learning Scholars are combining together to sort recycling from 5-7 p.m. at the Recycling Center, Blohm said.
The Sexual Assault and Anti Violence Info Office (SAAVI) will be hosting their annual campaign, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. which will take place in the TSC and around campus. Wednesday night, Friends of the Elderly is hosting an old-fashioned prom from 6-8 p.m., she said.
“I know that they are looking for extra help here, so if you are available that would be a fun one to go to,” Blohm said.
Wednesday’s service will conclude with an event called Black Violin at 7 p.m. in the TSC Ballroom, she said.
Thursday’s events include Aggie Locks, from 9-2 p.m. in the TSC Sunburst Lounge, at which Joyce Albrecht will be speaking, Blohm said. That night there will be a Kalai concert in the TSC from 7-10 p.m. to benefit Molly Rising.
On Friday there will be the End of the Year Bash in the TSC from 12-1 p.m.
“This is a good way to keep people excited for service throughout the summer. There’s been a lot going on this year and this can help introduce or keep students excited,” Blohm said.
Service Week will conclude with Extreme Room Makeover sponsored by Habitat for Humanity and the Spanish Ambassadors. Any students wanting to participate in this activity can meet the groups in the stadium parking lot at 10 a.m.
“All the partnerships are sponsoring or co-sponsoring an event, so it’s been a good way for the whole Service Center to work together. It’s also a good way to showcase our different projects, to see what we’ve done this year. It will be jam-packed with good times,” Blohm said.
–beck.turner@aggiemail.usu.edu