Community in Action fair links students with agencies

Shane Savannah
Staff Writer

Jackson State University students learned how they could serve at the Community in Action (CIA) Fair on Sept. 10 in the Student Center ballrooms.

Hosted by the Alice V. Harden Center for Service and Community Engaged Learning, the goal of the fair is to assist students with finding suitable service sites.

Approximately 50 partners/agencies filled the room with display tables that showcased their organization to hundreds of students in attendance.

Some of the agencies participating included: Addie McBryde Rehabilitation Center for the Blind, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of MS, Good Samaritan Center, MS Department of Archives & History, National Alliance on Mental Illness MS and many on-campus departments

“The Alice Varnado Harden Center for Service and Community Engaged Learning promotes all students toward improving the human condition through civic engagement.  Since, every student graduating from Jackson State University must have 120 verifiable service hours to graduate (60 hours for transfer students); we have events like the Community in Action Fair (CIA) so that each student can become familiar with the community partners,” said Kimberly Harris,  Service Learning/Community Service Resource Specialist/NSE Coordinator.

Harris added: “Students are given the opportunity to talk to each partner/agency present, learn what types of services each agency provides, and perhaps the students will find an agency in which they would like to earn their community service and/or service-learning hours. Faculty and staff were also given an opportunity to speak with the agencies and perhaps find which agencies are a “best-fit” for their respected disciplines. And finally, the community partners/agencies are given the opportunity to network with both private and public sectors, but more importantly, they talk with the students and hopefully, get some volunteers right on the spot. It’s a “win-win” for everyone.”

Jason “Smiley” Abrams, a representative for the Jackson Youth for Christ, was one of the many people offering community service opportunities at the fair.  This organization, which was started with the help of Billy Graham, is one of two of its kind in the state of Mississippi and has been around since the 1940s.

“We use different types of interactive attention-grabbing games to help the children learn about Jesus in a fun way.  For example, one game we used was having a competition of seeing who could eat a caramel-covered onion the fastest,” said Abrams.

Akil Shaw, a junior environmental engineering major from Memphis, Tenn. said he was pleased to see all the ways and agencies students could choose from to fulfill the community service requirement.

“I got the chance to sign up for community service at the Civil Rights Museum.  I think this was a great event to help people find community service before they graduate,” said Shaw.

Kyeisha Dennis was very pleased with the opportunity to meet with representatives from the agencies.

“My experience at the C.I.A. was amazing. I signed up for so many different community service projects. The representatives from each booth where very well-informed and were clear to understand. I think the event was an overall success,” said Dennis, a sophomore mathematics education major from Canton, Miss.

For more information about service agencies, deadlines and events, contact the Center for Service and Community Engaged Learning at 601-979-1294 or visit the office located on the first floor of Jacob L. Reddix Hall.

All photos by Shane Savannah