Spartanburg Methodist freshmen help community

About 500 Spartanburg Methodist College incoming freshmen spent Saturday morning performing community service work to assist local nonprofit organizations. Here, Ashley Howell, Desiree Arnold and Ameshia Turner go through donaterd clothes at the Miracle Hill Thrift Store.

JOHN BYRUM/john.byrum@shj.com

Published: Sunday, August 19, 2012 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 11:18 p.m.

Nearly 500 incoming freshmen at Spartanburg Methodist College got their hands dirty on Saturday, but in a good way.

The underclassmen fanned out across the community to work on a spate of labor-intensive projects at 19 charitable organizations as part of the college's 12th annual Freshman Day of Service.

Students scraped walls, painted and cleaned up the grounds at Christmas in Action. Another group cleaned and organized at the Middle Tyger Community Center, while others tidied up yards and visited with residents in the Dillon Pointe neighborhood.

?It was a great day,? said Kim Day, director of student activities and leadership for SMC. ?The students were excited, and they got experiences that some of them have never had before. When you have them working so hard and then they can see the end product, it is really the cherry on top.?

The program is just part of the students' orientation for their new college and, in many cases, their new community.

Each freshman is required to take an introductory course during their first term entitled SMC 101. The day of service gives the class a good start.

?It helps you make friends with a diverse group of people,? said Grayson Hiott, 19, of Anderson. ?We got a good day with the weather, and everything has been good so far.?

Hiott, a sophomore at SMC, participated in the program last year as a freshman. He was selected to serve this year as a ?Pioneer Peer,? meaning he volunteers as a big brother to his freshman classmates and helps acclimate them to their new surroundings.

?We tell them it's probably going to be a little awkward, but just go into it with an open mind and do your best to meet new people,? Hiott said. ?It gives you that little push before the school year. Hopefully, there will be friendships made that will last forever.?

Groups of 30

The students, most of whom reported to school on Friday night, split into groups of about 30 Saturday morning. They were clad in brightly colored T-shirts adorned with the motto, ?When people come together in service, the whole world comes together.?

Amber Lockman, 19, of Spartanburg, and Kasey Phillips, 18, of Chesnee helped clean up the trail areas around Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve. They said the experience made them feel pride and underlined the importance of giving back to the community.

?I think it's so important (to volunteer),? Lockman said. ?It's all about giving back and helping someone in need. Although we played a small part in this effort, it's still very rewarding because we know that every little bit helps.?

?As we go forward, we will always have something to talk about,? Phillips said. ?We can look back and remember this experience, or come by here in the future and see how our service has helped.?

Joan Moore, executive director of Christmas in Action, said her organization's partnership with SMC will save thousands of dollars and will impact several other groups that will use the facility in the future.

?These students are wonderful,? she said. ?They come out here and they're full of energy. They're very enthusiastic and they want to affect the community in a positive way. It's very exciting and should give us a jump-start.?

Kept working

Christmas in Action team leader Bob Libby said the students in his group finished their tasks in well under the three hours they were scheduled to be there.

Libby said the students didn't stop working and found other tasks to tackle, such as cutting grass and chopping down scrub brush.

?I was going to try to rein them in, but I realized that I better just get out of the way,? he said. ?They were unstoppable. They just kept going. It was incredible to watch.?

Pioneer Peer Kenny Utz, 19, of Olar worked with the group that painted the Christmas in Action building.

He said he will always remember the experience.

?This building is less than a mile from campus, and it's on a major route that people take to get to and from school. Everybody's going to drive by here and know that we helped,? Utz said. ?I will always know. I'm leaving next year, but any time I come back to Spartanburg and drive by this place, I'll know.?

Source: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20120819/articles/208191027

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