By: Rachael Jackson Staff Writer
On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the Service Learning & Career Development office went to the Marion-Polk Food Share’s community garden in Salem with staff, children, and students. The rain took a break for the SLCD and community volunteers for a surprisingly warm afternoon of gardening.
While only 14 of the 30 students that signed up for the event showed, they ended up completing a job expected to take three hours in only two.
Student volunteers cleaned up the dried plants and composted the earth, adding a layer of bark dust before heading out.
Adry Snorradottir Clark, the director of SLCD, said that the students see “that even though you have a career, you can still find time to get involved in something you are interested in. A lot of volunteers there had a passion for gardening.”
Having Western students involved in this service for the food share has an even bigger meaning than helping the Marion-Polk community.
“We’re excited to work for that organization because they are the ones that supply our food bank with food,” said Clark. “The students got to meet some of the community volunteers and see that they really care, they got to see that you can make a difference.”
