Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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All you need Volun seem I By BEN BREAZEALE Staff Writer 1 I USC senior Dana Shealy knew she had come to give. She drove away knowing she had received. Before she had arrived, 14-yearold Joseph Murray was bitter and scared. After being caught for shoplifting, he had been thrown into Columbia's Department of Youth Services' facility for delinquent youth and was alone and v insignificant. c At least that is what he thought. r When Shealy said goodbye to s him after spending a warm Satur- s day on the DYS grounds, Joseph waved back with a smile. He no t, longer believed everyone expected a the worst from him. He felt at least n one person cared about him. He v knew he had a friend. a Shealy knew she had a friend, i too. c Shealy is not the only student s reaching out to the Columbia com- n mumty. mere are a large number of USC students and groups who g give their time and energy to serve others the whole year around. As s Valentine's Day approaches, the g encounter between Shealy and v Murray shows a different kind of g love story, the story of USC's stu- 0 dent volunteers. From playing bingo with senior g citizens to roller skating with dis- t( advantaged children, these students e show the variety of ways love is p bridging the gap between students p and other members of the g community. g in aaaiuon 10 ineaiy, aoout zo a] members of USC's Fellowship of e] Christian Athletes travel out to the 0 Department of Youth Services each semester and spend a Satur- v day with the kids. K 'The real reason we go out there CI is because of love," Shealy said, p, "Because Jesus Christ loved us p] first, we can't help but love those h kids." ^ Shealy admitted it was not al- ^ ways easy reaching out to the kids, s, and sometimes she felt shut out. ^i But, she said the payoff for getting through to just one kid is worth pj more than the entire. Hav "Sometimes it's hard love," she di said. "You have to keep trying and tii trying and a kid might not ever say sj a word to you. That doesn't mean ca you aren't getting through." ar Her sentiments are echoed by ri: Phil Tripp, a volunteer for Young Life, another Christian organiza- cl tion. Tripp spends his free time fc coaching JV basketball for Ham- th mond High School and said love is fc is love teers i ike V ilso his greatest motivator. Not Setting paid for his services does lot bother him at all, he said. "If you invest your time in a dd, the payback is 10 times grea?? ~ ci, lie cApiamcu. rmauecs ean >e gained or lost, but changing a dd's life lasts forever. If I can be he one to listen and make a kid eel important, it's all worth it to ne. Christian groups aren't the only iniversity organizations making a lifference in the Columbia comnunity. Campus fraternities and ororities are involved in numerous ervice projects in the area. Alpha Tau Omega is preparing o put on its 11th annual see-saw-thon. According to fraternity nember Russ Blackwell, the event rill raise money for Camp Chemo, program out of Richland Memoral Hospital that sends young ancer patients to camps over the ummer. Blackwell said the firaterity also works with the Provilence Shelter on Main Street, a oarder house for the homeless. Blackwell said that contrary to ome opinions, the main reason raiemuy memoers volunteer serice to the community is because hey really care about helping thers. "A lot of people think that raternities just get drunk and try 3 make up for it with charitable vents," Blackwell said. "Some eople also think we just make our ledges do the service. It's just not ke that. As many, if not more, rothers volunteer their service, i nd all our guys do it because they njoy and look forward to helping thers." Another fraternity actively inolved in volunteer work is Pi appa Phi, which 13 years ago eated its own national service oject to sponsor ? PUSH (Peoe Understanding the Severely andicapped). Through fundraisers id volunteering, the fraternity stves to promote a greater undertanding of people with sabilities. One of Pi Kappa Phi's biggest AiPPte u;ifK PTTCU 10 itc orlAntinn yjv/vw yriui i uuii xo ilj uuvypuv/u : Camp Burnt Gin, a camp for sabled children. Two or three mes a month, fraternity members >end time volunteering at the imp in Sumter, PUSH chairman id fraternity member Tripp Mors said. The fraternity has been busy earing a nature trail at the camp ?r children in wheelchairs, and ey're also adding a rope guide >r the blind on the trail, along nake < alentii with braille signs indicating the types of trees and flowers located along the paths, fraternity member Lane Cyphers said. "We definitely feel good about what we're doing at the camp," Morris said. "We have approximately 75 active brothers, and 85 to 90 percent of them come every time we go the camp." Cyphers agreed that the experience is nothing but positive for the fraternity. "It really adds a new dimension to brotherhood," he said. "We're working together, not just drinking together." Angel Might, the support group for the Air Force Arnold Society, is one of the most service-oriented groups on campus. Their long list of volunteer projects includes the following: environmental projects, advertising projects to combat illiteracy, clean-up projects after Hugo and working with disadvantaged kids, the group's sponsor, Colonel Douglas Senter, said. i Once or twice a month the . group travels to the Presbyterian ( Home, a local nursing home, and < plays bingo with the elderly. Presi- , dent Amy Estingoy said the ser- ] vice projects make everyone in- ( volved feel they are doing some- j thing worthwhile. < "It's really interesting to talk to : people of a different generation who have so much to share and no t one to talk to," she said. "We vol- c unteer so much because we enjoy s being with each other," she ex- i plained, "and helping others makes ( everyone feel good." s That same love is what moti- r jEprji jvery < tie's D Lane Cyphers, Pi Kappa Phi me Camp Burnt Gin in Sumter. vates the members of CHAMPS, [Columbia Hall's Annual Marathon for Public Service organization), President Mary Jeffers said. CHAMPS' main project is to raise money for the Epworth Children's Home's fund for Down's Syndrome. With the money from the fund, the children's home hopes to idd a hospital facility for children ivith Down's Syndrome. In addition to raising money for he fund, members also take the children from the home on roller ikating trips. Love for the children s why Donna Moore, a member of CHAMPS, says she gives of her;elf. "Children are very special to ne," she said, "especially these mm 36 ne t pg|gg| rac JH (offer ends Meeting St. acr mil iav ay f M5P ^ I ^ mber, clears a nature trail at children. It's important for them to know that even though they're not my relatives, and I don't know anything about them, I still care about them, and they are important." Jeffers agreed and said she believed the people reaching out to help others were people with a lot of love. She summed it up well by saying she believed students all over USC were very concerned about others. "It's really neat to see," she said. "When people really need help, Carolina students are there and willing to give." And allowing love to bridge the gapI AND TAN i mm* m m wmm if 94-9100" ie month $40 weeks $31 | lamps w beds :ial tanner \ ; Feb. 28,1991) oss from McDonalds rr-99 J i. from USCmwm^