Michelle Buchinger

The Center for Community Engagement and Social Change is pleased to award a very special group of 51 Lawrentians. These students have continuously shown compassion and dedication to serving others. Their devotion to educating, supporting, and inspiring others through volunteer work has resulted in a tremendous positive impact and the CCE wanted to ensure they knew their hard work has not gone unobserved.

Attached is the link to the CCE website with a compilation of the award recipients: https://www.lawrence.edu/students/volunteer/volunteer-recognition.

We would like to especially acknowledge our senior award winners: Alexander Hadlich, Alexis Shannon, Christina Sedall, Cynfor Lu, Danielle Dixon, Floréal Crubaugh, Hannah Elizabeth Tobias, Henry McCammond-Watts, Jacelynn Allen, Jesus Sanchez, Mara Kissinger, Michaela McElroy, Ora Raymond, Rebecca Swanson, Sam Parkhurst, Samantha L. Torres, Sara Prostko, Sharon Edamala, Shelby Siebers, Sophie Dion-Kirschner, and Zhiru Wang.

Once again, a big thank you to our students for being such a wonderful asset to our campus and community!

Boxes! The Lawrence Center for Community Engagement and Social Change (CCE) is collecting boxes and packaging tape to assist students in the moving process. Should you have any boxes or tape, please bring them to the CCE, located in the back of the Seeley G. Mudd library off of Lawe St. at 113 S. Lawe St. Please look for signs for the CCE and just drop off in the entrance. We are seeking to limit visitors. Questions can be sent to community.engagement@lawrence.edu

Viking Ambassadors in Service and Engagement (VASE) aims to get small cohorts of first-year students volunteering, making connections, and learning about issues in the Fox Valley community within a Lawrence term. Students will gather weekly to learn and serve both on and off campus. All transportation provided by Lyft!  Spring term will offer three programs:

1. Arts Advocacy: Gain a greater access to the arts through representing and educating on different art forms (dance, art, music, theatre, etc.). Lawrentians will design and run their own creative program with children at the Boys and Girls Club. Direction on how to create a lesson plan, as well as any necessary supplies, will be provided.
2. Access to Education: Learn about access challenges within the various systems of education. Lawrentians will receive the support and resources needed to create their own project around furthering education equality within a community of their choice. Discussions and meetings will involve interactive activities, discussions and guest speakers from the education community.
3. Public Health: Partner with the City of Appleton’s Health department to create an intervention program for an epidemic impacting many local teenagers – vaping. Students will be trained to provide outreach within the Appleton Area School District. In addition, each week Lawrentians will better understand what it is to be a compassionate health professional through articles, speakers, and discussion.

To learn more and apply, visit our VASE homepage. Applications for Spring term programs are due on Monday, March 9. While this program is geared towards first-year students, all students are welcome to apply.

What does MLK Jr Day mean at Lawrence?

MLK, Jr. Day of Service at Lawrence University is an annual event that invites the entire Lawrence community to continue honoring the ideas of Dr. King and the civil rights movements that continue to this day.  Students, staff and faculty will honor the continuance of the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr through learning, serving, and celebrating.

As a part of the Lawrence community, many staff and faculty interact with students in one specific way. Participating in this day will give staff and faculty an opportunity to interact with students in new capacities and get to know them in a setting outside of the classroom or workplace. Volunteering on MLK Jr. Day provides an opportunity for you to:

• Give something back to an organization that has improved our community
• Make a difference to the lives of others (including our students!)
• Address disparities of access to basic human rights
• Step away from work to think about your own commitment to civic engagement

Six teach-ins throughout campus will address anti-racism 101, advancing racial equity in programming, creativity at the heart of inclusive community, black + trans: intersectional violence, anti-racist strategies and solutions, and stigma and disparity within mental health treatment.

Five service projects will bring you off campus to support elder advocacy, access to education, sustainability/hunger, animal welfare, and job training/employment. Each service project is a student-led initiative that benefits the community and helps Lawrentians solidify the value of learning as you serve. Select from a number of options, any of which will benefit a variety of agencies in the Appleton area.

Learn more and register at go.lawrence.edu/MLK2020.

Dr. King sacrificed everything to strive for equity. Who will do the work on this national day of service? All are welcome. Special thanks to the LUCC Committee on Diversity Affairs (CODA) and the LUCC Committee on Community Service and Engagement (CCSE) for their planning and financial support of this program.