On Sept. 21, St. Thomas University’s Experiential Learning Office hosted STU Cares Day of Action — the biggest volunteer event the university hosts during the school year.
The event aims to connect incoming and returning students to the Fredericton Community and develop “hands-on learning while having a positive impact”, according to an email sent by the Experiential Learning Office.
Besides the learning opportunities and the community engagement the program provides, the volunteer hours in the event will also count toward STU’s certificate in experiential learning and community engagement.
Participating students were paired with community organizations such as Hayes Farm, Greener Village, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and Fredericton Community Kitchens.
Other organizations dedicated to important causes like food insecurity, environmental accountability and youth support attended.
Carin Nfodzo, a second-year student at STU, decided to participate in the event because of her love for helping others.
“First of all, I love volunteerism and then I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to meet people as well,” said Nfodzo.
Nfodzo found out about the event through the Experiential Learning Office social media and was excited by the prospect of engaging with community organizations and connecting with more people on campus.
During the event, Nfodzo was paired with Greener Village, an organization that provides food, clothing and cooking workshops. She helped by preparing the beds for the crops, taking out weeds and harvesting cucumbers and tomatoes.
Despite how tired she was after the long day of labour, Nfodzo said she was very satisfied with her work.
“I feel like helping people also gives you this self-satisfaction that you are able to give back to the community, because that same community gives back to you in different ways.”
Third-year student Bia Dascalu volunteered alongside Nfodzo at Greener Village and shared the same sense of satisfaction.
This was Dascalu’s second year being part of the event and this year she took the role of student leader.
Despite the initial nervousness of leading her group and the different activities she was responsible for, Dascalu said she felt satisfied with the work she had done with her peers.
“It’s a really good opportunity to make friends and get some volunteer experience,” said Dascalu. “It’s very rewarding to see what you do and how it impacts the local community.”
Alberto Chavez, fourth-year student and student leader for the event, said that participating didn’t feel like volunteering.
Chavez expressed his excitement to help Big Brothers and Big Sisters by organizing a barbecue for children in vulnerable situations.
“I met a lot of cool people from the organization and [when] they asked me to do the barbecues, I felt like a dad in training,” said Chavez. “It was pretty good, everyone was super happy about it, like energetic.”
Chavez was also grateful for being exposed to different perspectives and realities while volunteering. He found the experience very grounding.
“It makes you appreciate where you come from [and] also understand where these kids come from so you can actually help them,” said Chavez.
Reflecting on the value of volunteering, Nfodzo encourages people to take some time to give back to the community, due to the impact she believes it has.
“I believe everybody has stuff to do, but now I just take a couple of minutes or hours to give back to the community, because that same community is also helping other people.”
With files from Shannon Munro.
