{"id":4285,"date":"2016-01-20T15:45:56","date_gmt":"2016-01-20T20:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/2016\/02\/17\/students-celebrate-mlk-day-by-serving-the-community\/"},"modified":"2024-07-23T16:25:45","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T20:25:45","slug":"students-celebrate-mlk-day-by-serving-the-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/students-celebrate-mlk-day-by-serving-the-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Students celebrate MLK Day by serving the community"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

A new community park will soon be opening in downtown Greenville, and Monday, 74 Furman students were there to help park organizers get ready.<\/p>\n

Despite below freezing temperatures in the morning, dozens of students in work clothes converged on the Cancer Survivors Park, located between Church and Cleveland streets, to collect garbage, remove tree limbs, and work on park landscaping.<\/p>\n

And they didn\u2019t hesitate to get their hands dirty. By the end of the morning, students clad in orange safety vests had collected 65 contractor-sized bags of garbage, five tires, several cement blocks, and an old grill for disposal.<\/p>\n

After assisting at the same location last year, accounting major Richard Hawkins \u201918 said he was looking forward to coming back to work at the park. \u201cI\u2019m happy to spend a couple of hours doing something I enjoy for someone else,\u201d said Hawkins, as he dragged a pile of branches to a brush pile using an improvised ratchet strap.<\/p>\n

The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday\u2013A Day of Service was a partnership between United Way\u2019s Hands on Greenville, Heller Service Corps<\/a>, the Interfraternity Council, and the Office of Student Activities. Their work was featured on WYFF<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n

As part of the day\u2019s celebration, 300 Furman students worked on community projects in eight locations across the Upstate Monday, including Safe Harbor, the Swamp Rabbit Trail, Freetown Community Center, New Washington Heights Community Center, the Cancer Survivor Park, Greenville Health System YMCA in Simpsonville, Camp Spearhead in Marietta, and Magnolias of Easley.<\/p>\n

\"magnoliasphoto\"<\/a>

Frankie Pinney \u201918 (left) works with Magnolia’s oldest resident, 97-year-old Flo Norton.<\/p><\/div>\n

Approximately 25 students teamed up with senior citizens at the Magnolias of Easley to create colorful, 12-month calendars for seniors\u2019 rooms and put together bird feeders for the assisted living facility\u2019s courtyards and gardens.<\/p>\n

Craig Beckner \u201919 was happy to find he had something special in common with Magnolias resident Miriam Stone. She also studied at Furman many years ago. They worked together to make a personalized, seasonal calendar as a gift for Stone\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that she asked me so many questions about how Furman is now,\u201d said Beckner of Mebane, N.C. \u201cIt was great to connect with Miriam and her friends and get to know other Furman students I didn\u2019t know before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magnolia\u2019s most senior resident, Flo Norton, 97, said she was \u201ctickled\u201d to be able to complete a calendar project with Frankie Pinney \u201918. While she said she never had children of her own, she was happy to \u201cadopt\u201d one for the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate you helping me,\u201d Norton told Pinney. \u201cI think it\u2019s great y\u2019all are helping us on your volunteer day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cancer Survivors Park Executive Director Kay Roper and Development and Administrative Associate Heidi McCall were glad to have many extra hands available as they prepare for the opening of the first section of the park, a 1,200 square-foot boardwalk.<\/p>\n

The 6.8 acre park is located below the Chamber of Commerce building and stretches from the edge of Falls Park at Church Street to the edge of Cleveland Park at the Cleveland Street Bridge, according to park officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a neat idea,\u201d said Liza Veilleux \u201916, a history major who plans to teach secondary level social studies. \u201cI wanted to help (with the park clean-up) so that Martin Luther King Jr. Day wasn\u2019t just another holiday. It\u2019s important to take advantage of opportunities to serve and remember why we celebrate the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so impressed by our Furman students, faculty and staff that chose to come out on an extremely cold day to make a difference in the Greenville community,\u201d said Nancy Cooper, Furman\u2019s coordinator of volunteer services. \u201cThis event is simply one example of the commitment that Furman consistently holds to service of others and aiding those in need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participating fraternities included Beta Theta Pi, Kappa Alpha Order, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Chi, Sigma Nu and Tau Kappa Epsilon. Representatives from the Women\u2019s Track Team, Hispanic Organization of Learning and Awareness (HOLA), NAACP, Student League for Black Culture, Shucker Center for Leadership Development, Heller Service Corps and Exploration of Vocation and Ministry also participated, along with members of the faculty and staff, including Brandon Inabinet, Neil Jamerson, Lori Schoen, Adam Summer, Jeff Valentine and Teddi Walker.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Featured image\u00a0by Jeremy Fleming \u201908. <\/em>
\nInterior image by\u00a0Amy Howard,\u00a0Volunteer Outreach Coordinator for Providence Care.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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