Residential life hosts service stations in Don Love Atrium
On Saturday, November 2, the Residential Life Oasis team welcomed students to the Atrium and Student Center for “Service Stations.” Preview Day guests also joined and many attended the activities. Students began making sandwiches and hot chocolate at 2 p.m. to later distribute to homeless individuals in downtown Lincoln. The community service group left at
3 p.m. to go downtown while others stayed back to explore the remaining stations.
There were several stations spread throughout the atrium: blanket-tying, card-making, kindness rocks, daily devotion jars, and cookies. Dean Stocks pointed to the table filled with cookies and said, “This is the best part of the event, right here. The blanket-tying station was so that students could send their creations to the People’s City Mission. Cards for Seniors were set on tables in front of the rock-wall cave, allowing students to sit at tables and write messages for the elderly in retirement homes.
Bianca Ybarbo, a student at Union, whose creative leadership group project was doing the cards said, “We’re supposed to create a project that helps to benefit the community and my group chose to do cards for seniors in nursing homes. It’s definitely geared towards our majors (nursing) and many of us have done care in nursing homes. We thought it would be a great way to brighten people’s days and be able to spend some time with them.”
Kindness rocks were set out on tables that stretched along the side of the atrium and many students and guests sat together to decorate them with paint pens. Daily devotion jars were set on the table next to the rocks, and people were able to grab jars, add a sticker and sit down to begin filling them with Bible verses set out on the table.
Camila Burgos, a student at Union, said, “These devotion jars are a way for students to share little messages with someone they love, family members or just a friend who needs encouragement. It’s a nice way to give them some peace and devotions.” Another Union student, Jonah Zwiefel said, “There’s a variety of verses and we put the works in ours! There’s gratitude, joy, peace, courage, faith, guidance, hope, patience, and a surprise-me! If you’re feeling adventurous, you could start your day by pulling out a surprise-me and be.. Surprised!” Service stations are a great way to connect with others in spreading positivity and gratitude
in the world around us.
by Jenna Wilson