The Education LLC service committee launched its first semester with a school supply drive.
If “greatness is determined by service,” as the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, then the Baylor Education Living Learning Center (LLC) service committee is on the fast track to greatness. The young team of six residents held four service events during its inaugural semester, reaching out to the Waco community.
Opened in the fall of 2015, the Education LLC is home to an array of students from all different walks of life and majors. Service and community has been the focal point of the Education LLC and the driving force for the service committee of residents. As soon as the LLC opened this fall, the service committee was in full swing, holding a school supply drive within the first month.
Education LLC service committee co-chair Kristin James helped deliver school supplies.
“It’s so nice living in a community where everyone loves serving others,” sophomore secondary education major and service committee co-chair Lauren Pecha said. “It’s great because I get to connect and hear so many diverse stories from the people around me.”
Through the “Educators Helping Educators” school supply drive in September, the committee gave 25 care packages to teachers at Alta Vista Elementary school.
In the month of October, the service committee volunteered at the local Farmer’s Market and worked at the World Hunger Relief stand. While there, they passed out pamphlets about the farm’s upcoming fundraising event and provided attendees with information about World Hunger Relief and its mission.
In November, the committee held a cereal drive and gave all donations to the Salvation Army.
The semester of service culminated Dec. 4 when the committee hosted the “Book in a Bag Drive,” which included a decorating party event where residents in the LLC decorated bags based on books donated to the project. These decorated bags, along with donated books, were given to children through Mission Waco.
LLC residents and Pursue members enjoyed a book bag decorating party in the game room of South Russell Hall.
For the book drive, the LLC service committee partnered with the organization Pursue, a Baylor service organization that mentors students in area schools.
“This whole event is really great,” senior Pursue student Karishma Palvadi said. “The idea of handcrafting and personalizing book bags is a really cool and different idea.”
With Pursue alongside them, the Education LLC was able to create about 40 book bags for Mission Waco. This has been the narrative of the service committee as a whole — to serve and make a positive impact on the community around them.
“The service committee has gone above and beyond this semester in serving others,” said Dr. Lakia Scott, Education LLC service advisor and School of Education assistant professor. “They have made such an impact in the community, and I look forward to the spring events. They show great promise to area students about the importance of education.”
—by Taliyah Clark
Learn more about our awesome Education LLC here: baylor.edu/educationLLC
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