During JumpStart, Walla Walla University’s week-long orientation for incoming freshmen students, newcomers to campus participated in a service project designed to connect them to their new community and show them opportunities to get involved. 

The JumpStart service day was much like a smaller version of WWU’s quarterly service days, where students volunteer on a wide variety of community projects instead of joining their normally scheduled classes. Liberty Anderson, junior business marketing major who helped coordinate the service day, explained how beneficial a service day is for new students. “Getting involved in service right away was a great opportunity because it gave new students a taste of what to expect,” she said. 

Anderson also shared that engaging in service helps new students build relationships locally and find a sense of home, even if they are far away from the places where they grew up. 

Freshmen students who worked on a number of projects reported that they really enjoyed their time giving back to the community. Anderson said that the students who volunteered at the Frenchtown historic site were especially expressive of the good time they had. 

Anderson invited anyone interested in participating in continued community service to get involved with Community Action and Relief Experience (C.A.R.E.) weekends. Every Saturday afternoon, one to two hour service activities are coordinated at 2 p.m. during the academic school year. The campus-wide Fall Service Day will occur on Oct. 18 and is a great opportunity for students to find a project to volunteer on. 

To receive weekly challenges about connecting with neighbors, Anderson invited students to use the Hey Neighbor Neighbor (HEYNN) texting service by texting HEYNNWWU to (509) 800-0966.  

All of these opportunities are ways that WWU teaches students to incorporate generosity in service into their lives during and after their time in college.

Posted Oct. 10, 2023