Miami Students Work To Serve Community

By Kexin Yue

Miami University journalism Student

April was National Volunteer Month, a time to focus on giving back. Miami students and organizations are among those working to make a difference in their communities.

According to Independent Sector, the estimated monetary value of volunteer time is $24.14 per hour.

26.6 percent of Ohio residents took part in community service in 2015, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. That translates into $6 billion worth of of community service.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that there has been a slight decline in the number of Americans who volunteer in their communities. The data also show that women spend more hours volunteering each year than men.

At Miami, an estimated 4300 students have dedicated over 35,000 hours to community service, worth about $844,900.

Service At Miami

The Office of Community Engagement and Service at Miami helps students find volunteer opportunities. It is in the process of developing more service programs as well as a volunteer management software platform that would allow students to respond to opportunities in an app and to keep track their hours.

Leigh Ackerman, coordinator of volunteerism and outreach, thinks the office helps students see that there are community needs they can help address.

"Helping others is to remind us there is something bigger than you, and you are part of something," Ackerman says. "You can use your interest, skills, to get passionate about things that you want to accomplish."

A study of service-learning done by researchers at UCLA shows that "Better than four service-learning students in five felt that their service made a difference and that they were learning from their service experience."

Among the things Ackerman thinks students can learn from a service experience are organization, time management, and how to work with people from diverse backgrounds.

Giving Back

Opportunities at Miami include Service Saturdays, one-time service events in the local community; the Local Alternative Spring Break Program that helps students volunteer not only in Oxford, but also in Hamilton and Cincinnati during three days over spring break; and a service learning class, which marries service with academics.

"Empathy is a big skill, being able to understand someone else’s situation and what they are going through makes you a more empathetic person," Ackerman says. "And there is one thing students don’t realize is that you can use the skills that you already have to serve, if you happen to be really good at web design, and etc., you can service that way using your skills."

Many student organizations provide opportunities for students to engage in community service as well.

Alpha Phi Omega (AphiO) is a co-ed service fraternity on campus, which serves the community in different ways by volunteering with places like the Ronald McDonald House, Animal Adoption Foundation, Oxford Senior Center, and Hueston Woods.

Ambika Kumar, senior vice president of AphiO, thinks helping others is one of the greatest things someone can do.

"If I can make someone else’s day a little easier, a little brighter, or a little more hopeful, I can go to bed happy," Kumar says. "AphiO is my home on campus, it has helped me grow into a better person."

Kaitlynn Dirr is an active member of AphiO and volunteered at the Israel Festival on May 3. For her, service means giving back to the community and expecting nothing else in return.

"I love seeing the smiles on people’s faces when you help people by volunteering," Dirr says. "I have learned to be more compassionate, become a better leader and be more organized."

Increased Student Interest

The Office of Community Engagement and Service mainly facilitates student volunteering through a weekly email newsletter. According to Ackerman, the number of people who have subscribed is approximately 3500, although the office has seen interest in community service grow.

"We also encourage any student organization to reach out, we are happy to include their requests (in the email)," Ackerman says. "So a wide range of stuffs that we provide, not only service opportunities."

Recent opportunities featured in the newsletter include the Great Strides Walk that was held by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation on May 6 in Oxford Memorial Park. Great Strides is a 5K walk that helps raise money for and awareness of cystic fibrosis.

About 10 volunteers from Miami University joined family members of people with cystic fibrosis and others to help set up registration as well as distribute food and t-shirts.

Victoria Littlefair-Molin, the development manager for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, describes the volunteers as "the heart and soul of the foundation."

"I love them, this is how we have our events is through the volunteers," Littlefair-Molin says. "They make today possible and they also help rise awareness for the disease and what we do."

Jessica Goldstein is a sophomore, and a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi, who gave up her Saturday morning to help out at the event.

"It’s fun," Goldstein says. "It’s nice to see all the people here that are helping and you are helping them out."

Littlefair-Molin says without members of the community pitching in to help, her organization wouldn't be able to hold events like the Great Strides Walk.

"They help with everything from beginning to end, I think it’s great experience for them to learn about how to put on an event, but also I mean, we would not really have any kinds of event without them," Molin says.

For some Miami University students, their hope is that their commitment to service will have an impact beyond their local community.

"I hope we can not only grow our impact on Miami’s campus, but also help neighboring chapters at different colleges," Kumar says. "If we have stronger relationships with them we can reach our impact all over Ohio."

Photos: Student volunteers help distribute food at the Israel Festival. Student interns work at the Office of Community Engagement and Service. --Photos by Kexin Yue