ASHLAND – Students and staff at Ashland University chose to honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy this week by giving back to the community.
Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination, and the university’s Offices of Student Affairs, Christian Ministry and Community Service teamed up with the Religion Department to plan a week of memorial activities.
Members of the student volunteer group AU G.I.V.S., which stands for Ashland University Gets Involved With Volunteer Service, spread throughout Hawkins Conrad Student Center Tuesday to ask their peers to engage in quick community service projects and to consider reasons for volunteering in the community.
Students filled blessing bags with toiletries and wrote notes of encouragement for Rape Crisis Domestic Violence Safe Haven, painted items for Safety Town and created toys for dogs in the Ashland County Dog Shelter. Participants were also asked to finish the sentence, “I volunteer because…”
Freshman Gabriella Carr was walking through the student center when she saw people congregating around what turned out to be the Safe Haven project. She had heard about Safe Haven through a booth set up at a theater department event, so she stopped to participate.
“I felt called to do this.” Carr said. “I felt like I should.”
AU G.I.V.S. volunteer Matt Giffin spent the afternoon collecting donations for the dog shelter at a dog “hugging booth” and teaching fellow students how to make a dog toy from a water bottle and a sock.
Giffin said he regularly volunteers to walk dogs for the shelter and enjoys the feeling of giving back.
The volunteer service day was just one of a series of events held at the university this week in remembrance of King. Other events included a faith-based call to social justice, a screening of the movie “Selma” and 50 hours of prayer.
