UHCL Working to Change the Community

Trent Gibson
The Signal
Nails are driven. Meals are prepared. Trash is removed. Sometimes, we all just need a helping hand.

On March 2, 2013, University of Houston-Clear Lake held its 11th annual Day of Service. Sponsored by Student Leadership, Involvement, and Community Engagement (SLICE), the Day of Service has allowed students to get involved in the community since 2002.

The event, originally called Community Outreach Day used to be included as a part of Welcome Week and held during the first week of classes. As it became apparent that one week was not enough time to promote the event, it was moved to later in the semester and held once a year.

With the fall semester already heavily booked with other leadership events, the Community Outreach Day was set as a springtime community service extravaganza. The name was changed last year to Day Of Service to appeal more to student organizations who could sponsor events and eventually get more people involved with the event.

The event involved several student sponsored projects, including: Habitat for Humanity, Houston Food Bank, UHCL Campus Clean Up, Bibleway Fellowship Baptist Church’s One Powerful Movement Food Pantry, Armand Bayou Nature Center, Interfaith Caring Ministries Resale Shop, Bay Area Turning Point, and Descendants of Olivewood Cemetery, Inc. While the event had 153 registered, by the end of the day, 111 community driven volunteers arrived to help.

“Day of Service projects challenge our students to step out of their comfort zone,”said Jennifer Clark, assistant director of student life. “ We challenge our volunteers to reflect on the service they are engaging in – to look beyond the tasks they are performing and to ask themselves what the bigger picture is.”

Clark goes on to say that the Day of Service is about leadership, and leaders are those who serve others, and therefore, those who are served are better able to serve others themselves. These community service events are designed to help students become more involved in their community. It helps build their teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills.

“What I liked most about the event was the fact that all of these students, teachers, and even children, came out to help improve the community” said Jeremy Mejia, a UHCL graduate student and volunteer at the Houston Food Bank. “There was this strong sense of togetherness.”

In addition to helping students become more engaged in their community, it also helps the students feel a sense of community amongst themselves. These events help build relationships between the students, as well as with staff and faculty.

“The act of giving back to society is also a way to build community among our students,” Clark said. They get to work alongside their peers and other staff and faculty in ways they do not get to when they are in the classroom.  They build relationships with one another. They become more connected to the university.

“We hope that everyone who participates in Day of Service comes away with a desire to ‘do more.’ We are helping them to make hose connections, and encouraging them to make a lifelong commitment to service and to being servant leaders.”

Yoko Ono, John Lennon’s widow and long-time activist for peace and human rights, once pointed out that the key to making a difference in the world is to think global, but to act local, or as former President Ronald Reagan once said, “We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.”

For more information about upcoming SLICE events, visit http://www.uhcl.edu/slice.

Slideshow created by The Signal reporter Dave Valdez.