In the midst of acclimating to their new class schedules, clubs, sports, and other obligations, UNCG students came out in droves on a Saturday morning, sporting their “Changemaker” shirts, to focus on the needs of the greater Greensboro community. More than 200 students teamed up with local organizations on Spartan Service Day on August 20, 2022.
Destiny King has been a Spartan Service Day volunteer since 2019. She worked with Reconsidered Goods, the Interactive Resource Center, and Lindley Elementary Garden.
“Being able to serve each year always gives me a motivating and persevering outlook to the beginning of the new semester,” King says. “Things may seem stressful during the school year, but knowing that our university has a mission to get our students, staff, and faculty to serve on and off campus has only helped shape my morals and values of serving our community.”
This was Kristien Teel’s first year participating in Spartan Service Day–but she’s no stranger to getting out in the community. She previously volunteered with the COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic and Backpack Beginnings on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.
“One of the key takeaways for me through these service experiences is learning more about the community my service impacts,” she says. “Through these community partners and organizations, I learned about the great need present and the enormity of the operations to offset this need.”
This year, UNCG partnered with 14 different organizations. Students worked with groups serving a swath of needs, including the New Arrivals Institute, Elsewhere Museum, Hope Academy GSO, and the North Carolina African Services Coalition.
Teel and King encourage more students to get involved. They say the rewards of the hard work are quickly apparent.
“The time you will take out of your day to participate in the event will be substantially smaller than the impact that you will help create,” says Teel.
King says, “You meet many new people outside of your major and learn about on-campus clubs and organizations also participating.”
Story by Janet Imrick, University Communications
Photography by Grant Evan Gilliard and David Row, University Communications
Be of service, become a leader
The UNCG Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement prepares students to become changemakers, from opportunities for civic engagement to the Leadership Challenge Program.
