Austin Peay’s freshmen serve nonprofits in Clarksville, Hopkinsville, Dickson during Freshman Service Project
(Posted Sept. 8, 2021)
On the morning of Saturday, Aug. 28, a group of new Govs met at the Foy Fitness & Recreation Center to participate in this year’s Freshman Service Project.
Students checked in, grabbed some free snacks for fuel and then hopped on buses that took them to volunteer locations all over Clarksville and Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The buses transported students to numerous nonprofits such as the Salvation Army, Loaves and Fishes, the Teacher’s Warehouse, Jeffers Bend Environmental Center, and the Trail of Tears.
“While two students helped paint, the rest of us helped tend, pull weeds and clean up the native garden,” said Trinity Mobley, who was a student leader for the Jeffers Bend site. “Everyone at Jeffers Bend was so nice and grateful to have us there helping out.”
Student volunteers worked from 9 a.m. to noon and assisted their sites with various projects. Loaves and Fishes, a Clarksville agency that aids food poverty through food distribution, had volunteers stamping and packaging fundraising letters.
“I felt as if there was anything I could do to help, I wanted to do it the best I could,” freshman Patrick Hathaway said. “Between the work, fellowship and beautiful atmosphere, my work didn’t feel like work.”
After their morning of service, volunteers received a free lunch upon their arrival back to campus. After lunch, buses set out once again, this time taking a group of students, faculty and staff to the Dickson Family YMCA.
Our volunteers arrived with a bus full of collected donations from the Austin Peay community, including bottled waters, personal hygiene items, phone charges and nonperishable foods. Volunteers then worked in the YMCA’s donation warehouses, sorting clothes and food and creating care packages for those affected by the floods.
“This was a great opportunity to provide a little relief for some of our neighbors,” said Dr. Tim Winters, director of the Honors Program. “We might not be able to save the world, but we can and should demonstrate our genuine concern for those around us. That’s the real school spirit of APSU, that’s what it means to be a Gov.”
If you’d like to get involved in future volunteer opportunities or relief efforts, visit the website for Community Engagement and Sustainability at www.apsu.edu/volunteer.
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