Each year, Samford hosts a week entirely focused on community engagement. Community Engagement Week is connective, bringing together the student body through service projects and volunteer work. It is Samford’s way of saying “thank you” to its community.
Various organizations on campus get involved to contribute to the shared goal of giving back to the local area. This involvement ranges from building bunk beds for kids, to collecting trash out of a creek, to filling a food pantry.
Samford Outdoor Adventure Club (SOAC), chose to participate in community engagement week by cleaning Lakeshore Trail. Samford students enjoy walks with friends or daily runs on this trail, reserving a great portion of it.
Sarah Grace White, the service chair for SOAC, highlighted that their club seeks to worship God in natural spaces. “We wanted to give back to a communal space, one more specific and local to us in Homewood,” White said. “We are happy to worship God’s creation through service.”
SOAC is consistent with their personal service projects, with club-specific goals.
“Instead of simply existing within Samford, it was so cool to actually collaborate with the student body specifically,” White said.
Debby Haralson, the Director of Community Engagement, emphasizes that Community Engagement Week reflects the student body.
“It is so easy to get involved. There is not going to be another time where we are more able to help than now,” Haralson said.
Samford has a strong influence in Homewood. Nurturing a good relationship with those communities directly embodies Samford’s mission.
“Educating the whole is a focus here- educate the student but also the person. We want Samford to be a source of good in the community,” Haralson said.
Whether you are a part of a club or not, Community Engagement Week runs off volunteers from any place. You can get involved today!
Staff Reporter
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