Day of service is gift to community

SAINT AUGUSTINE – March 9  hundreds of students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of Flagler College reached out and raised up for their bi-annual Day of Service. Over 12 nonprofits received the influx of volunteers for one day of intensive, focused and scheduled service to get the projects done that required a bulk of time, people, or both.

“They’re doing the jobs we never have time to get to,” said Charles Franklin of the Alpha Omega Thrift Store.

The organizers of the event belong to the student group Flagler College Volunteers (FCV). For this particular Day of Service, their marketing efforts to recruit volunteers used the saying “Do good together.” That saying rang true among the majority of volunteers.

“I’ve had such a positive experience here at Flagler in my first year at work and so I wanted to become more connected and engaged with the community,” said Flagler Career Development Center Assistant Director Ariana Mollers.

Some were first-timers and some repeats, but all were excited about doing something good together.

For Maddie Mahar, a Flagler student and ambassador, this is her fourth time volunteering. She was particularly excited to be helping with the Hunger Project as she felt like this would have a wide impact because of how many people it helps to feed. The goal by the end was to package 20,000 meals.

“I’ve volunteered at other places but I wanted to volunteer with this because more people are struggling with this issue,” she said.

Broad impact at a local level was an attractive reason to get involved in Day of Service. Raven Troyer with Feeding Children Everywhere, the organization that hosts the Hunger Project activity, echoed that: “We think hunger is in other countries, but really it’s in our own backyard.”

Student Julia Manze is a leadership council member who said that service makes for the perfect bonding opportunity. Her advice to anyone considering service: “If you haven’t done it before, try it. It’s a good thing to do and nobody feels bad afterwards.”

Some of the nonprofits who participated in the Spring 2019 Day of Service include Alpha Omega Thrift Store, HAWKE, Council on Aging, St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, SAFE Pet Rescue, St. Augustine Center for Living, Feeding Children Everywhere and St. John’s County Parks and Recreation.