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Volunteerism
Some things never change
With new technology comes new opportunities of serving others.
When retired elementary teacher Clara Goodman needed help
to learn how to surf the internet, and how to send and receive
e-mail messages from her family members, Jennifer Hills (Brownsburg,
Ind.), a Special Education major, volunteered to teach her.
Jennifer tutored the 93-year-old woman on her first home
computer until she was able to navigate the net, use the PC’s
word processor to type letters, and correspond over e-mail.
“So many people are using the computer to write each
other these days,” Mrs. Goodman said with a smile. “I
never learned how to type so I’m trying to learn now.
I want to use it to write to my family and missionary friends.”
Freshman leads crusade in Ukraine
When Elizabeth Millikan was a freshman at IWU she embarked on
a 13-day journey to Ukraine. Accompanied by a team of volunteers
from Heart to Heart, an organization based in Ukraine that focuses
on humanitarian aid and evangelism in underdeveloped and poverty-stricken
nations, Elizabeth visited an excess of 1,000 children in an
orphanage in Tulchin. Elizabeth brought with her new and slightly
used socks donated by IWU students and Marion community organizations,
including over 300 pairs donated by one factory.
Snack Shop proceeds donated to CPC
For the staff of IWU’s College of Adult and Professional
Studies, buying snacks in their break room is a way to help
their neighbors. Instead of using all the proceeds to refill
the snacks, the staff uses part of the money to help families
at the Crisis Pregnancy Center of Grant County.
Many CPC families cannot afford to buy extra things for their
children, like school supplies or Christmas presents. The
money gleaned from the snacks has allowed IWU to provide CPC
parents with items like crayons, Easter baskets, toys, stickers,
candy, calculators and Bibles.
“We appreciate this partnership with the community,”
said Executive Director Ellen Dean. “Since we are totally
funded by donations, this partnership allows us to serve clients
in the community we may not be able to reach on our own.”
Basketball team removes the trash
Each spring the city of Marion has a community-wide clean-up
day. Individuals, families, and groups are encouraged to make
their neighborhood more beautiful by bagging up the trash
that tends to accumulate along roads, streets and ditches
over the winter.
IWU’s Men’s Basketball team took up the call
this past spring and decided to go where most people were
unlikely to go - an old, seldom used stretch of railroad tracks
three blocks north of campus. After a morning of bagging,
the team picked out of the weeds and rocks 19 bags of trash.
Chemistry Professor teaches homeschoolers
IWU chemistry professor Dr. Dennis Brinkman smiled as a chorus
of “ooos” and “ahhs” spread throughout
the lab room as the mystery solution flashed into brilliant
colors. Although this was an ordinary experiment, it was not
an ordinary day. On this day forty homeschool children, ranging
in ages from five to thirteen years old packed into an IWU chemistry
lab with their parents to watch the many experiments Dr. Brinkman
had planned just for them.
Jill (Garner) Steinke ’81 approached Dr. Brinkman with
the idea for a science day. Ms. Steinke, who homeschools her
two children, currently works part-time at IWU as an adjunct
nursing professor. “She asked if I would be willing
to do some chemistry experiments for the Homeschool Association
of Grant County in May,” Dr. Brinkman said.
As a father who previously homeschooled his two daughters
for ten years, Dr. Brinkman knows first-hand the problems
with attempting science experiments at home. “It’s
one thing to read about experiments and another to see them
in action,” Dr. Brinkman said. “It can be difficult
and expensive for a parent to get materials.”
“He peaked the children’s interest in science,”
Ms. Steinke said. “It really was positive exposure to
chemistry.”
Being There
He’s someone’s uncle, someone’s brother,
or someone’s dad. He’s someone you know. He’s
a man who has a future, and a man who has promise.
Rebekah (Hilty) Swingle (Auburn, Al.) learned first-hand
what it means to reach beyond her campus world, and step into
the lives of others. From her first visit to the Grant County
Rescue Mission in the spring of ’99, Rebekah knew that
she had found her passion for outreach.
Rebekah finds that it doesn’t take long to see how
much they need Christ. “There are a lot of reasons why
people are there,” Rebekah said. “Financial problems,
substance abuse, or rehabilitation are just some of the obstacles
they face. But when they come to the Rescue Mission, they
have to acknowledge that there’s a need in their life,
and you have that amazing opportunity to fill it for them.”
Jailhouse Reading
After hearing about a unique reading program aimed at helping
children of jail inmates, Wenda Clement, Associate Professor
of Education and Media Center Director at IWU, decided to start
such a program in Grant County.
The process of “Read to Me” is simple. Incarcerated
parents are given the opportunity to have their reading of
children’s books recorded into a tape player and played
back to their children.
However, there were many steps to cover before Wenda could
make this dream a reality. She needed to write grants to get
the funds to purchase tape players. She needed to meet with
the Grant County Jail staff and the local school system to
get their agreement to participate. Then she needed to recruit
volunteers to meet with the inmates, record their readings,
and take the tapes to the schools to be played to the inmate’s
children. It took about one year for everything to come together.
“It seemed that the mothers are really pleased with
it, because when they read, they put a lot of feeling into
it, as if they were really there reading to their children,”
said Helen Gadberry, one of the first volunteers to work with
the program. “I think it makes them feel closer to their
children.”
Resident Halls
The men and women in each of IWU’s ten residential facilities
organize community service projects during the year. This
year the men of Bowman Hall have set a goal of performing
2000 hours of service. While the leaves were falling this
November the women of Shatford Hall joined with the Bowman
men to rake as many lawns as possible during their annual
“Rake-N-Run” day.
Other service projects have taken IWU residents to The Well,
Grant County Rescue Mission, area nursing homes, St. Martin
Community Center, and churches with special needs.
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