September Service Days Stimulates Community

NORMAL, Ill. – The Center of Civic Engagement is hosting events for various community organizations. McKenna Myers, a graduate student and employee at the Center for Civic Engagement, describes the center’s plans and goals for the service events.

“Our primary goal when we organize a service is to meet the needs of the community partner”

The Center for Civic Engagement is hosting a series of planned service events, September Service Days, to give students a chance to engage with their community. The acts of community service will benefit those who participate and the Bloomington-Normal area. 

“We keep a running list of community partner needs on our website, so anyone can reference that to find opportunities that fit their schedule,” said Myers. “Carle BroMenn is always requesting seasonal letters to give out to their patients, so Christmas, Easter, and Birthday cards.” 

The Center of Civic Engagement is teaming up with the ISU Horticulture Center to garden, harvest, plant and maintain other parts of a farm. Sunnyside Gardens is another organization the center is helping out which requires similar actions to the ISU Horticulture Center. Towards the end of the month participants will craft bags for the Festival of Trees, while others will package and sort donations for the Midwest Food Bank. 

Later this year and next the Center for Civic Engagement plans to host multiple events similar to September Service Days to open more service opportunities. Campus Holiday Helper Program is a significant event the Center hosts around the holiday season. 

“There are several components to that, but one way that people can get involved is either by sponsoring a child through the online systems Center for Civic Engagement.  Another that students really love is Wrap and Pack, you can volunteer to wrap gifts, the gifts that are collected for the kids.”

Currently, the Center for Civic Engagement is taking donations for their Sock-tober event. 

“We started something called Sock-tober, so currently right now, we are collecting socks for all the kids who participate,” said Myers. “That started because we thought there was more we could do to address some of the needs of those kids, and we saw consistently that one of the most common needs and something that is easy to purchase is socks. ” 

Donation boxes are located in the Center for Civic Engagement office and by the Campus Recreational.