BGSU to observe King holiday with day of service

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Bowling Green State University students plan to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a “day on” instead of a “day off” this year by participating in a day of service designed to honor Dr. King and his work in the community.

Partnering with other campus organizations, the Office of Service-Learning on Jan. 19 will hold a service challenge open to all faculty, staff and students at the University. About 100 volunteers are expected to work with community agencies.

BGSU is one of 92 universities across the nation that have joined forces to complete the MLK Service Challenge. The service-learning office received a $600 grant from Ohio Campus Compact to provide seed money to teams of volunteers.

Registered volunteers will be split into groups. Each group will be assigned a community partner with whom to complete a “challenge” to use the seed money in the most effective manner and to accomplish as much work as possible that day.

Part of the excitement in the challenge model is the planning and implementing of the project by the volunteers themselves, says graduate assistant Lesa Shouse, coordinator of the MLK Service Challenge in the Office of Service-Learning.

The day is also made possible through financial support from the University Activities Organization, Phi Kappa Psi, the Diversity Ad Hoc Committee and the Sociology Graduate Student Association, along with the Office of Campus Activities.

Any BGSU student, faculty or staff member wishing to volunteer and make a difference can register at http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/sa/getinvolved/page59202.html. Groups can also register.

Questions about the projects and the day of service can be directed to Shouse at lshouse@bgsu.edu.

The Office of Service-Learning is dedicated to integrating service into the classroom. Dr. Jane Rosser, the director, can be contacted at 419-372-9288.

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(Posted January 12, 2009 )