Wesleyan students take part in
community service
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Kentucky
Wesleyan College freshmen Jacob Buergey, left, and Logan Abrams carry
salt and other supplies to a few storage units Thursday afternoon at the
Green River District Health Department. “The whole freshman class is
doing community service across the city today to receive a grade,”
Buergey said. The community service is part of Wesleyan’s freshman
orientation class, KW1101. Photo by John Dunham, Messenger-Inquirer |
By Rich Suwanski, Messenger-Inquirer Published:
Friday, August 28, 2009 12:00 AM CDT For about two hours Thursday afternoon, 37 Kentucky Wesleyan College
freshmen helped the Green River District Health Department stock its
trailers with medical supplies.
For their efforts, the students got a good feeling for serving others in
the community. They also got a cookie.
"The kids were incredibly great," said Angela Woosley, the
preparedness planner for GRDHD.
The community service is part of Wesleyan's freshman orientation class,
KW1101, which helps students make the transition from high school to
college. Other students did projects around Owensboro on Thursday. "They
really work hard, and they had a ball," Woosley said. "And we
give them a Great Harvest cookie coupon. The way they acted, you'd think
we'd given them gold."
The students didn't seem to mind the work, wheeling boxes between the health
department buildings across from one another on Breckenridge Street, and
the trailers in an adjacent parking lot, and stacking them.
Jameilla Wright, an Owensboro High School graduate, said she's volunteered
at Wendell Foster's Campus for Developmental Disabilities, where her mother
Crystal Johnson works, and done other projects.
"I like helping out," Wright said. "Whatever I can do for
the community, I'm willing to do.
"And it's a learning experience."
The health department had stacks of boxes filled with personal protective
equipment, such as gloves, masks, gowns, alcohol gel, alcohol preps and
Band-Aids, as well as containers for used needles, biohazard bags and much
more.
Some boxes in trailers needed to go into the health department and vice
versa. The freshmen were organized by KWC senior leaders while the health
department's medical reserve corps volunteers oversaw the project to make
sure the right stuff got to the right place.
The trailers are miniclinics to be used in case of a disaster. They can be
lifted onto trucks and shipped wherever needed in the GRDHD service area.
However, some of the supplies in the trailers may be used throughout the
flu season, and then replenished in case of an emergency.
Woosley said that if the Wesleyan students didn't help, the medical reserve
corps volunteers and GRDHD staff members would have to do the lifting and
carrying.
"Some of the reserve corps are elderly and (carrying boxes) isn't easy
for them," Woosley said. "And if I ask staff here to do it, they
would, but that's taking them away from their (primary) jobs.
"The kids did it like, hey, this is easy."
Daviess County graduate Jameson Wilcockson has volunteered with the Special
Olympics and at retirement homes, so community service wasn't new to him.
"You get satisfaction for helping someone," said Wilcockson, who
checked expiration dates on boxes to ensure their contents were still
usable.
Brendan Kinsella, a KWC football player, was also used to community service
projects. As a freshman at Louisville Trinity, he had to do 15 hours of
volunteering, then more hours as he progressed through school.
"It's a pleasure helping others," he said.
Rich Suwanski, 691-7315, rsuwanski@messenger-inquirer.com
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