University of Georgia Students Learn Lesson in Service with Arby's Foundation
Bus Proposal Awarded $10,000 Grant to Feed Hungry Kids in Clarke County, GA
Blackmon: Students learn lesson in service
“I just saw it as one more project that stood between me and graduation. The more schools we visited and the more children we met though ... the more I realized the privilege and opportunity we had received. We had the ability to really help, to create a program that would have a substantial and lasting impact on the community and individual lives.”
That’s Megan Arnold, a 2014 University of Georgia graduate, talking about a team project in the last course of her college career. They sum up the meaning of “service learning” and illustrate why it is such an important part of anyone’s education.
Arnold was one of a dozen public relations students in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication comprising two teams of six in their capstone campaigns course. Their assignment was to increase participation in summer feeding programs for children in Athens-Clarke County by at least 15 percent.
Supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Seamless Summer Program brings together the Clarke County School District, the Athens Housing Authority, Family Connection/Communities in Schools, Action Ministries and the Northeast Georgia Food Bank. With support from religious and civic groups, the coalition works to insure that children who rely on school breakfasts and lunches get good nutrition in the summer as well.
