Record Participation Makes “Into the Streets” a Huge Success
First draft of news story
A record number of Morningside students went “Into the Streets” to help those in need. Nearly 800 students and some faculty participated in ODK’s annual college community service day, helping with various service projects with non-profit groups throughout the Siouxland community. With the recent devastation from Missouri river flooding, most students engaged in flood clean-up, but there were many other activities also going on.
The day began at 7:30 Wednesday morning as hundreds of students filed into Eppley Auditorium before heading into the streets. There they were greeted by Into the Streets coordinators, Jackie Lincoln and Jessica Boschen. Omicron Delta Kappa is a leadership honor society for upperclassmen, focusing on getting students involved in community involvement through service. From here, the more than 20 campus organizations involved dispersed across the tri-state region to help those in need.
Over half the students worked on flood cleanup at the Riv-R-Land Estates area in Dakota Dunes, under supervision of the Salvation Army. Other areas impacted by Morningside’s involvement were the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center, Crossroads Homeless Shelter, and the Food Bank of Siouxland.
The day was certainly full of hard work, but most students liked the aspect of helping people. One of nearly 500 students helping at Riv-R-land Estates, Morningside junior Danielle Dahlkoetter agreed. “I wasn’t expecting to work that hard, but it was a great feeling knowing we were really helping people.”
Another Morningside junior, Ryan Schneider, described his experience, one that was different than most groups. As a member of the music fraternity on campus, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Ryan and his fellow Sinfonians sang for residents at the Northern Hills Retirement Community. “I realized that helping people isn’t always about lifting or doing hard work, but it’s ultimately about helping other people and brightening their days. As a group, I think we accomplished that.”
Regardless of the type of work involved, Jackie Lincoln was extremely thankful for all of the hard work people put in. “I have received tons of great feedback. I know it was exhausting, but just thinking of the time it would have taken the residents to accomplish the work we were able to do in just a few hours, I’m very proud of Morningside students and faculty for all they did today.”
Jessica Boschen has already received e-mails from grateful members of the community who were extremely flattered by all of the hard work exhibited by Morningside students.
The Morningside College community came together like a family for Into the Streets this year, and the Siouxland community can be very thankful for that. This year’s Into the Streets was a huge success when considering the record number of students. The hard work of nearly 800 students has not gone unnoticed, and the people of Sioux City are extremely thankful for that.
October 9th, 2011 at 9:05 pm
How are teachers different from faculty? I would keep the focus on students. I don’t think there were enough faculty involved to be noteworthy. This is a good framework, Nick. Keep talking to people and see if you can add a bit more substance. Was Danielle at Riv-R-Land? You could get more from the students who went there. Would it be possible to talk to some of the people who were helped? (Beside the one who e-mailed) I talked to the guy at the blood bank bus barn. He was impressed that student had fun.