Service Fair connects students to local opportunities to serve
On Thursday, Jan. 21, the annual Service Fair was held on the first and second floors of Stover. The Service Fair is a way for students at Waynesburg University to find local service opportunities for which they can volunteer. It also presents an opportunity for local service organizations to network with students and recruit volunteers.
While Adrienne Tharp, the Bonner coordinator, planned the event and solicited the organizations, Assistant Dean of Student Services Kelly Hardie assisted with the event and established service/partner relationships with those organizations.
Hardie, displaying a passion for service, highly recommended the Service Fair for any student. This year, there were over 18 nonprofit organizations for students to choose from, presenting 18 different areas for students of all areas of study to potentially get involved.
“The volunteers could be students that have a heart for service and feel called to serve locally while they study here at Waynesburg University, or they could include our Bonner scholars that are looking to get connected to an organization. Or, they could include our Service Learning students who are taking Service Learning for credit in order to fulfill their 30 hour requirement,” said Hardie. “But I have to be honest, a majority of students who sign up to volunteer are not associated with a scholarship or a class, they just want to serve.”
The want to serve versus being forced is the key ingredient to heartfelt work, according to Hardie. By attending the Service Fair, the students have a wide selection of organizations with which to work. And that “want” that Hardie mentioned is what keeps these organizations coming back.
One organization that attended the Service Fair was the Greater Waynesburg Christian Outreach. Ashley Beaman, the co-director of the organization, ran the booth. It is an after-school program that provides tutoring, Bible education and dinner to students in Kindergarten through fifth grade on Monday to Thursday evenings. Beaman’s organization has been attending the Service Fair for the past three years during both semesters.
“We are very much run by student volunteers. We had almost 50 volunteers last semester,” said Beaman.
Many students are needed and utilized through these organizations. However, Hardie recognized that the need for service is not just countywide, which is why the university also provides service trips that allow students to serve on an international level.
“I encourage all students to serve locally but also to participate in service trips. A male student attended the Bahamas service trip and ended up changing his major to secondary education after working with children in a classroom setting,” said Hardie. “You can have that internationally or have that experience right down the street in Greene County.”
The main goal for service is to connect students to the right outlet for them, so they can have similar experiences within their own opportunities. Hardie made it clear that everyone has the capability and the capacity to serve. The Service Fair presents an opportunity for those students to find their niche in the serving world when they may otherwise be too shy.
“When it comes to volunteering, people often think of doing tasks, maybe like sweeping the floors or cleaning things,” said Hardie. “But service involves your God-given gifts and talents that only you can provide.”