A Day of Service in the Name of MLK Unites, Affects Community
by Amber Cronin '11
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead
On Jan. 20, 2009, Barack Obama spoke these words in his inaugural address: “It has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things—some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor—who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.”
These were words that millions across the nation, including in our own community, took to heart. Community service has long been a part of many people's lives, but many do not realize the impact they can have by doing such simple things as helping a friend, neighbor, or even complete stranger. Students and faculty exemplified the role of being a doer, risk-taker and maker of things by answering the new president's call to service and participating in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
“It is important to do community service because that is the definition of a community, people helping each other and being a part of each other's lives,” said Jeanne Clark '11. “Not just avoiding each other's gaze on the street.”
During the civil rights movement, the Reverend Doctor King and his followers worked toward the dream of equality for all, for the creation of a nation with freedom and justice for all. The Day of Service was designed to help jumpstart this notion of a better nation by strengthening individual communities. The community service projects organized by groups around the nation focused on building their communities by addressing social problems or just fixing up schools and homes in surrounding areas.
“The main tenets of Martin Luther King's philosophy have to do with breaking down bridges and understanding that we are all one and getting rid of the prejudice, or at least walking through the prejudice,” said LuAnne Ryall, assistant director of the Harrington Center for Experiential Learning and one of the day's organizers. “Going out into the community and working with different populations helps us understand where they are coming from. A day of service, of going outside of yourself and doing something larger than yourself, with people you don't usually interact with, can precipitate a lot of rewards, individual growth, and understanding of personal, political and economic issues.”
A group of about 40 Colby-Sawyer students, plus staff and faculty, joined people around the nation in setting a record for participation with 13,000 projects taking place - a 162 percent increase over the 5,000 projects completed for last year's Day of Service.
The Colby-Sawyer volunteers were involved with projects around New London, which included everything from fixing up the snowshoe trail around Kelsey Field and re-potting plants in the atrium of Danforth Hall to helping community members in their homes and cleaning equipment for the local Outing Club.
Aubrey Thomas '09 was one of the students who helped the Outing Club by cleaning up the stage area of the newly renovated gym at the old middle school on Main Street, which the club uses for storage. Their tasks included sweeping out inches of dust from under the stage, vacuuming the stage curtains, labeling chairs and just cleaning up the area.
“I haven't done very much community service before, so it was strange at first when I was wearing an MLK shirt, walking to the Outing Club with other people in matching shirts,” said Thomas. “But before I knew it, I was really into helping out, and I loved offering a hand to all the projects in the gym. I also felt like I was part of the New London community, and not just the college campus.”
This sentiment of being part of a community--not just the college community, but really being brought into the New London community--was shared by many of the volunteers, especially the ones who spent time in the homes of residents.
“I went with a small group of students to a woman's house in town to help her paint the trim of her house,” said Clark. “We helped her move some furniture up a tiny flight of stairs and into a small loft area at the top of the house. She wanted to move things from upstairs to downstairs and from downstairs to upstairs. She's not elderly, but it's hard for her to move around in her house, and so I think it meant a lot to her to have some students come in and help her, and generally keep her company.”
Many of the students, like Thomas, began the day with no or little experience in community service. Some were there for clubs, classes, or even extra credit, but they all came out with a new appreciation for the place they call home for nine months a year. The “day on” as President Obama called it, offered students a chance to take lessons in critical thinking and problem solving that they learn within their classes, and apply it to real life situations in accomplishing the tasks laid before them.
“Service is a wonderful thing when it works in addition to education,” said Casey McMorrow '10, student organizer. “Not only do you get the classroom experience, but service gives it a personal aspect that would be lost otherwise.”
When the students gathered in the morning, none of them knew what they would be doing that day, whom they would be working with, or what the ultimate outcome would be. According to Ryall, this was the way the day was designed. By not being allowed to choose the project on which they worked, students got the chance to learn more about the community and the people in it.
“It was great [the way it was set up] because you never know what the service experience is going to be like beforehand,” said Tim Fenton, assistant director of campus activities and one of the facilitators of the project. “All you can do is guess.”
The day, for many, was a lesson in opening your mind to new ideas and growing as a person.
“It's actually working side by side with people in a nonjudgmental fashion and being with people, understanding what they are going through., That is really the core of service,” said Ryall.
The day was not about gaining a personal satisfaction in helping people, about wearing a badge that says “Hey, I helped someone today!” but about knowing that an entire community was touched by the work students did. Community service should not be a chore; it should be at the heart of all communities and done freely, with joy.
Martin Luther King Jr. exemplified the idea that one person can change the world by creating a movement of love and change, much in the same way that President Obama hopes to bring change to the way things are done in Washington, D.C. Breaking down barriers, real and imagined, was accomplished by the students and staff of Colby-Sawyer on their day of service, and both those who gave and those who received will long remember the experience.
