GETTING OUTSIDE THE GATES

Freshman year, my Space to Impact project involved teaching 120 unpriviliged children in the Spartanburg community how to swim.  When it came time to recruit wofford volunteers, I was fortunate enough to find, pretty easily, 20 students who were willing to devote an hour and a half a week for two weeks to community service.  The idea thus crossed my mind, why is there the perception that Wofford students don’t get out in the community when I found volunteers so easily?  When I talked to the students who volunteered they said jumped on the opportunity to help with swim lessons primarily because they had a passion for swimming and that’s what drew them into the community.  As a result, I’ve come to the realization that community service interests are centered around personal passions and only when there are opportunities available that people are passionate about, will they become involved in the community.  Thus, I saw an opportunity to expand the range of opportunities available to Wofford students when I learned of the redevelopment initiative just across Church street in the impoverished Northside community.  As a result, my project was born: Getting Outside the Gates: Getting Wofford Students Involved in service.  The aim of my project is to develop partnerships with community service organizations on Spartanburg’s northside, just across Church St., which cater to the interests of the wofford student body.  In this respect, the project will be mutually beneficial.  The project will launch with an interactive website, where community members can identify needs in the Northside.   I will then take these identified needs to the student body to determine which community needs can be fulfilled by students volunteering in areas they are passionate about.  For example, cooking, construction, or art.  After establishing these service projects, I will market the opportunities to members of the entire Wofford community.  The goal is to establish a sustainable presence of Wofford students in the Northside, who are engaging in meaningful service that complements their interests.  I need you to identify your passions and commit yourself to service in order for it to be a success!