Towards the final days of Carleton’s winter break, the Student Experience Office wrapped up its 75 Campus to Community Days initiative. In honour of Carleton’s 75th anniversary, the Student Experience Office (SEO) partnered with groups of students across campus and the Ottawa community to complete a full 75 days of community service work.
Students were involved on and off campus at places like the Ottawa Mission, Dalhousie Food Cupboard and the Cornerstone Housing for Women. They participated in events like the Youth Service Bureau’s annual SleepOUT.
“It’s an opportunity for students to get involved in community service learning,” said Kajal Agarwal, community outreach co-ordinator for the SEO. “Community service learning is something that we hold as a value that is really important in student growth and development.”
Agarwal explained that all their initiatives, including the most recent, are based upon community service learning.
75 Campus to Community Days: Learning by Serving
“It’s not just service, the whole point is that … there is a mutual growth there. The students are giving something, but also getting something. They are learning by serving,” she said.
The 75-day initiative kicked off last August with the help of more than 20 community partners. Getting students involved was never an issue.
“We’ve seen it blow up,” said Agarwal. “Students have been reaching out to us . . . a lot of clubs and societies have been reaching out to us . . . We’ve also seen the residence community come together.”
As Carleton marks its 75th anniversary in 2017, the goal of 75 days of service has been reached. On the day of that achievement, students found themselves playing bingo with seniors at the St. Patrick’s Home of Ottawa.
“We get a great mix of students from what we’ve noticed,” said Agarwal. “It’s not just one group. (It’s) students who, for one reason or another, just value giving back and value being part of something bigger.”
Carleton students are engaged
Agarwal explained that the best part of seeing these initiatives come together is the heart-warming, enthusiastic emails she receives from partners.
“Often times partners will reach out right after and say these students were awesome, we can always count on the Carleton students to show up and be engaged,” said Agarwal. “Getting those emails brings the whole program together and are the reason behind why we do this.”
Pictures from the 75-day initiative can be seen online here.
