Elon sorority keeps Service Day tradition alive
Members of many Elon organizations gathered in Harden Clubhouse 9 a.m. Saturday, March 3 to benefit a cause they said they felt was well worth waking up early for. These students were participating in Impact Day: A Day of Service, an event that promotes community service at several sites in Elon and the towns surrounding it. “I think (service) is an important part of being a student at Elon,” said Brittany Walker, chairwoman of the event. Walker decided to organize the event after she learned the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement had chosen not to host it, as it had in the past. [quote]I think it’s always good to take part in an event that gives back to the community. -- Candice Blacknall, Impact Day participant.[/quote] Walker said her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, considers community service one of its core values, and its members agreed to host Impact Day to benefit those in need. “We thought it was such an amazing day that people could volunteer for,” Walker said. Walker said she was eager to expose participants of Impact Day to a wider range of service opportunities than they may not have known existed. In order to partner with a variety of service locations, Walker personally contacted the Elon community partners listed on the university’s website, many of which she coordinated with in the past as the director of the Kernodle Center’s Leadership in Collaborative Services. She then worked with the service sites that responded to her emails to identify their greatest areas of need, some of which called for labor-intensive projects. “We’re cleaning out stables, we’re digging up gardens and we’re weeding,” Walker said.
