Make A Difference Day - NWA Times

UA students spend day making a difference
BY KATE WARD Northwest Arkansas Times

Posted on Sunday, October 17, 2004

Thirty-eight nonprofit agencies were benefited Saturday through the University of Arkansas’ 12 th annual Make A Difference Day.

The University of Arkansas, through the Office for Student Involvement and Leadership, once again participated in the national service effort with more than 400 volunteers who dedicated a day to help their community by assisting nonprofit organizations in the community. MADDay is a national event sponsored by "USA Weekend" Magazine in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation.

Some of the service projects that were held on MADDay helped Seven Hills Homeless Shelter, the Donald W. Reynolds Boys & Girls Club, the Northwest Arkansas Free Health Center, Young Bridge and the Peace at Home Family Shelter Thrift Store Fiesta, where Johnetta Cross Brazell, the UA Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, volunteered.

MADDay is intended to give participants an opportunity to learn about the various nonprofit agencies in Northwest Arkansas through service projects, but more importantly to provide a venue for civic duty. A volunteer rally was held Saturday morning, with guest speakers Healey Tonsing, executive director of the Faith in Action program at Washington Regional Medical Center, and Susan Borrego, associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs/Dean of Students at the university. "During the rally, we pumped up volunteers and fed them breakfast," Borrego said. "Some volunteers went straight to their project sites and were unable to attend the rally, but others were assigned to different projects at the rally."

Individual service projects are coordinated by students who serve as project leaders. The chairs leading the event were B Gutierrez and Fortune Utubor. "This is my second year to participate in Make a Difference Day, but my first year to be a project leader," said UA student Misty Jackson. "Since my major is dietetics, I will be working with people all my life and this is a great opportunity to get involved in the community and show that I care."

One volunteer group went to Youth Bridge, a residential treatment facility for children. "The person in charge of Make a Difference Day assigns volunteer groups to different nonprofit organizations," said Emily Crow, project leader and UA student. "We were assigned to Youth Bridge, and today the kids went to the ropes course while we painted the inside of one of the buildings."

Another event gave children a chance to mingle with the UA’s top athletes. "Big (Razorback) For a Day," is one of the collaborative efforts between the Student Involvement and Leadership Office, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the UA Men’s Athletics department. The event took place at Bud Walton Arena on the UA campus.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters program is designed to match children who are in need of consistent friendship and guidance with adult role models.

The goal of this year’s project was to promote the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas and its mission of providing oneon-one mentoring to "atrisk" youths and to recruit adults to become involved in the program. About 30 to 40 "Waiting Littles" attended the event. Waiting Littles are children registered for the program who are not yet matched due to a shortage of adults willing and able to serve as a "Big" (mentor). "It gives us a chance to get to know the ‘waiting littles,’ and it also gives them something fun to do on a Saturday," said Will Atchley, Big Brothers Big Sisters officer.

After the children registered and ate lunch, they received a tour of the arena and locker rooms and watched the men’s basketball team practice. After the practice concluded, the children were able to meet and visit with the players and coaches. In the, end the children went home with several autographs and a very special memory. "I like it because I get to get spoiled for an entire day," said Jake Nelson, a waiting little. "My favorite part is getting the autographs because I get to hang them on my wall."

When MADDay projects concluded, volunteers participated in a post-project discussion to process what was learned.

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