A group of students from
Saginaw Valley State University and a Saginaw youth group built many things recently: relationships with each other, community pride, public speaking confidence, and civic responsibility--and while they were at it, the closed Webber Middle School in Saginaw got a fall makeover, as well.
The SVSU students were from the Organization of Black Unity, and they worked with about 30 local youth participating in Operation Reach, a local nonprofit that does a community sweep every two weeks to clean up or improve the community.
This time, it was cutting grass, pulling weeds and picking up trash around the abandoned school, and with the SVSU students’ help, the Operation Reach kids also got preparation on how to talk about their experience in front of their peers. And, they got a new point of view on college from the older students while they were at it.
"We cleaned up, but while we were cleaning up, we were building relationships with these kids," says Kristian Patterson, president of the Organization of Black Unity. "We talked to them about options inside and outside of college, how to prepare for college, and we told them how we got here."
Patterson adds the experience was just as rewarding for the SVSU students as for the younger group.
"You don’t realize that it’s going to impact you," she says. "You just want to do something to help people, but then you walk away and someone says ‘Thank you,’ and it just feels amazing."
The Organization of Black Unity includes monthly outreach projects in the Saginaw community, where students add their hands and voices to community service projects.
"It was a great opportunity, because a lot of us aren’t from Saginaw. We’re getting exposure to the community where we’re getting our education," says Patterson.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Kristian Patterson, Saginaw Valley State University
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