Cover Series

Giving It Their All
How hundreds of Ferris students spend
their free time in community service.

Michelle Burke, director of Student Leadership and Activities, oversees nearly 180
Recognized Student Organizations at Ferris. Almost all of them engage in some kind of philanthropic activity during the year, donating either time or money. "Several national surveys show that college students are more interested than ever in community service activities, but still it is a wonderful surprise how enthusiastic Ferris students are about contributing their time," said Burke.

Ferris State University's Student Volunteer Center coordinates student projects that include building and painting houses for needy families, mentoring children, delivering hot meals to the homebound, renovating historic sites and organizing clothing and food drives. Other students participate in fundraising activities and donate thousands of dollars each year to local charities.

Homing In on Housing Needs
Nineteen student organizations were recognized for their outstanding efforts at the annual Earth Fest celebration on April 24. The Ferris chapter of Habitat for Humanity reported more than 780 hours of service building four area Habitat homes, earning the "Student Organization of the Year" award from the Student Volunteer Center. Chapter president Jason Johnson is proud of his small but mighty organization. "It's good to see so many people come together for a good cause," said Johnson.

Greeks Paint the Town
While Greek Week is usually full of competitive events that are just for fun, Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity launched a new Greek Week tradition to benefit the community. The "Paint the Town" project teamed fraternity and sorority members to fix up the exteriors of houses in Big Rapids.
Working with advice from city officials and area agencies, four homes were identified to beautify, the owners were asked for permission to work on their properties, and the project took shape.
Sean Leto, chairman of the event, said "We felt this was a great way for the Greeks to come together in a fun way to give back to the community." Big Rapids mayor Kay Farrow sent a letter of commendation to the organizers for their initiative.

Band Aid
An old Greek Week tradition continued with new success on April 23. The annual Mock Rock air band competition, sponsored by Lamdba Chi Alpha, attracted nearly 700 spectators to watch five bands compete, raising more than $2,000 for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, one of the more popular agencies benefiting from Ferris students' philanthropic efforts.

Volunteer Central
The Student Volunteer Center served as the Mecosta County headquarters for National Make A Difference Day last October, sending volunteers from all over the community to make a difference in Big Rapids.
Several student organizations were honored for their participation in the event, which sent individuals and organizations out to complete one-day service projects like park clean-ups, senior center renovations and organizing food and clothing banks.
In addition to student organizations, individual students give unselfishly of their time and talents. More than 400 students registered with the Student Volunteer Center this year, logging over 3,000 hours of community service.

Volunteer of the Year
The 1999 Student Volunteer of the Year is Christine Junker of Evart, a sophomore in the College of Education. "Christine is a full-time student at Ferris, and works part time, but she always finds the time for activities with her Little Sister," said Don Nemec, local director of Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. "She is an excellent role model."