The Griffon News

Missouri Western students with a dedication to serving the community will have an opportunity at Homecoming’s kickoff, the Big Event.

The center for multicultural engagement’s annual event has been reinvented with a renewed
emphasis on quality over quantity.

According to CME director Taye Triggs, this year’s theme is inspired by Martin Luther King
Junior’s quote, “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.”

In previous years, the CME extended their volunteer assistance to any community services
that had an interest.

Unfortunately, the logistics of transporting bus loads of volunteers to multiple locations proved to be too much. Transportation was inefficient and service experiences varied between locations resulting in numbers of volunteers decreasing steadily over the years.

Event coordinators felt that concentrating the efforts of volunteers to only four different options would enhance the experience for volunteers and those that they served.

This year’s projects include working on two Habitat for Humanity Houses, collecting for Food Drives at three local grocers, assisting Mid City Excellence with a garage sale, and a Fall Health Carnival for youths at Pleasant Heights, a low income housing development.

This year working in conjunction with Homecoming will hopefully encourage volunteers to participate. Organizations that submit a list of volunteers that will be checked off the lists when they sign in on at the Big Event. Organizations that achieve complete participation will be credited fifty points.

“I hope that not only does CME reach it’s goal of 150 students, but more importantly, the students receive a meaningful experience from doing this community service project,” Ivory Duncan, CME intern, said.

Students with an interest in serving are to meet in the Blum Union Lobby Saturday at 8 a.m., Oct. 6.

There will be transportation, food and shirts available to all volunteers.