MLK Day of Service Project Yields Mutual Rewards (Learn and Serve America Grantee)

(Morganton News Herald Newspaper)

January 20, 2009

MORGANTON - Early Tuesday morning, Morganton Station (Old Nite Furniture complex) was invaded by a small army of more than 60 volunteers armed with shovels, rakes, drills, saws, hammers, cameras, laptops, paint brushes, cleaning supplies and more importantly, a unified purpose in honoring the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr through a day of selfless dedication in volunteerism and community service.




Faculty, staff and students of Western Piedmont Community College (WPCC) were on hand enforce to assist the staff of The Enola Group (TEG), a local non profit organization serving people with developmental disabilities, with a variety of indoor and outdoor projects.

"This year the school has answered the call to provide voluntary service to a community group that is committed to removing barriers and enacting civil rights," says Maureen (Mo) Schwind, WPCC Director of Educational Talent Search - Student Services. "In honor of MLK Service Day, we found such a partnership with The Enola Group, whose mission is to provide people with disabilities the opportunities to make life choices."

By working together, the two organizations were able to have a direct and immediate impact on the Enola Group's clients through enhancements to their work and learning environments.

Some of the projects completed at the morning event included the construction of inside storage shelving, and outdoor Pergola and window washing at the Studio XI Crafts Annex facility; a fresh coat of paint inside the Garden Gallery Gift Shop; staining of art storage bins, construction and erection of an overhead projector "floating cradle platform", and digital photography and data entry / archival of 100's of pieces of artwork at the Studio XI Main Studio & Galleria.


Photos From L to R:
Mikeal Hathcock gives the Garden gallery Gift Shop a fresh coat of paint; (L to R) Tim Dale, Deb Williamson and Johnny Burnette assemble custom storage shelving; Robert Vasile uses a jigsaw to taper a tailpiece of lumber to be installed on the new Pergola.

There was also a little play time as students and faculty personally bonded with the clients by engaging in a variety of Wii electronic interactive video games.

"I couldn't even begin to imagine the costs in labor, materials and time if we would have attempted to carry out our project wish list on our own," says Enola Group Executive Director Fredda Monroe. "Additionally, while the volunteers were busy working, our clients were afforded the opportunity to make new friends. I'm thrilled that these friendships will be further solidified through an ongoing partnership between our organizations."

Currently, WPCC is one of eight community colleges across the nation selected to receive a three year Service Learning grant from the American Association of Community Colleges.

The Service learning program combines elements of classroom instruction and community service to facilitate critical, reflective thinking while promoting personal and civic responsibility. The program involves students in activities that address local community needs while at the same time helps them to develop their academic skills.

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, and per president-elect Barack Obama's personal call to individual service in his memory, millions of volunteers rallied nationwide Monday and Tuesday to complete more than 12,000 unique community service projects.

In fact, according to the MLK Day of Service official website, 2009 service day volunteer and project numbers were twice those of 2008.

For more information about this project, please contact Arrick Gordon at Obo The Enola Group, 300 Enola Rd., Morganton, NC 25655, arrick@charter.net.