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Opponents will take hotel fight to LUBA
Newberg will not take the field
Honoring the fallen of Sept. 11, 2001
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Hoping only to serve |
Hundreds join in lending a hand during university's
annual Serve Day |
By Schellene
Clendenin, Newberg Graphic
reporter
E-mail Schellene at
sclendenin@eaglenewspapers.com
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Much like the busy worker bees that work in teams to care for the
hive, on Wednesday more than 1,300 George Fox University staff and
students offered thousands of man hours to organizations as far away
as Portland and Salem and as near to home as downtown Newberg as
part the eighth annual Serve Day event.
Hundreds swarmed over the city and dug, planted, painted, moved and
sorted.
At
Love INC (In the Name of Christ), a clearinghouse for churches
providing services in Newberg, more than 40 students were split into
groups of eight and sent out to deliver furniture, clean, mend
fences and tag items for a single mom planning a garage sale.
“They are all happy to be here and help out,” said Polly Siler,
Love INC executive director.
Alison Bennett and Jodi Nakahara, both sophomores, were assigned
work in the Love INC house, cleaning and organizing in the kitchen
and moving furniture. The pair agreed that the project brought them
closer together last year, their first year at George Fox.
Nakahara said Serve Day provides students with an outward focus, a
common goal. She recommended service as a great way to give back to
the community.
Bennett laughed and said the work was no hardship and it gave
students a chance to miss classes for the day and get to know one
another better.
Staff members said they felt the same way. Greg Smith, the chief
technology officer at GFU, was working on the computer system at
Love INC. He agreed that Serve Day, especially because it’s held
early in the school year, offers students a chance to get to know
staff and community members.
Mark Pothoff, dean of students at GFU, has in his seven years
participating in the event, led hundreds of students in everything
from landscaping and brush removal to cutting and stacking wood.
“Service is very much a part of who we are,” he said.
Pothoff, who worked with students to landscape the area around the
Springbrook fire station, said everyone involved was having fun and
getting a lot accomplished.
“It can be labor intensive, but it’s amazing how much work a group
this size can do in (a short amount of) time,” he said.
The project is also becoming a much anticipated tradition.
Many staff members involved in the project wore T-shirts labeled
with “Be His Hands: Make a Lasting Impact,” the theme of this year’s
Serve Day.
The idea is for staff and students at GFU to think of ways to
practice service throughout the year and use those ways to make an
impact, large or small.
Marion Reid, office administrator for Women of Purpose
International, a nonprofit missionary based in Newberg, was excited
over the joy the students brought to the activities. They cleaned
gutters and removed debris from the back yard of the facility, and
all work was done cheerfully, she said. And students seemed
interested in the work being done through Women of Purpose.
“I love it,” Reid said. “It helps the community and lets people
know what George Fox University is about. Teaching them to help
others without expecting anything in return.” |
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From
Sept. 9,
2006, Newberg Graphic
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