UA Students Lend a Hand in Storm Relief, Community Support

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama Community Service Center is kicking off the new academic year with service projects this week to get new students involved on campus and to help the Tuscaloosa community rebuild from the April 27 tornado.

The CSC is hosting a service project aimed at engaging first-year students called the Ripple Effect: Freshman Volunteer Day Tuesday, Aug. 23, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Students will work with Habitat for Humanity’s Brush with Kindness community building program to paint the exterior of several homes through Habitat’s partnership with Valspar Paint.

The Ripple Effect, a part of the UA Week of Welcome, will also include debris removal with Project Team Up and school supply distribution with the Tuscaloosa City Schools.

Registration for the Ripple Effect will begin at 9 a.m. at the Ferguson Center. Students may also register for this project online at http://slpro.ua.edu.

Students will volunteer until 1 p.m. and return to the Ferguson Center for lunch and reflection about their service. Transportation will be provided to and from the sites. For more information about the Ripple Effect, contact Rachel Edington at reedington@sa.ua.edu.

Some 150 students are expected to participate in the Ripple Effect.

The CSC will also host Hands on Tuscaloosa Service Days Aug. 27, Sept. 2 and Sept. 10 when campus groups will fan out across the city in tornado relief and other community projects.

Through these community service projects, volunteers will disperse around the city in hopes of initiating long-term relationships with local nonprofit organizations. Students will work on tornado relief and also refocus on issues Tuscaloosa faced prior to the disaster.

Service projects for Hands on Tuscaloosa include Habitat’s Brush with Kindness, home renovation with local nonprofits, Project Blessings, park beautification with Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority, and a fun day for local children at Tuscaloosa’s One Place. Other projects include work with the Tuscaloosa Volunteer Reception Center.

“Hands on Tuscaloosa provides students with the unique opportunity to become familiar with the needs of our city, and SAA recognizes how important this will be in terms of motivating students to serve throughout their entire collegiate career and beyond,” said Alex McNair, executive director of the Student Alumni Association.

In addition to the Hands On projects in Tuscaloosa, UA alumni chapters across the state and country are encouraged to hold service days in their own communities with the title of Hands On Tuscaloosa. The hope is to have thousands of UA alumni working in their communities in the name of Tuscaloosa. While students are working on Hands On Tuscaloosa, alumni could be having Hands On Tuscaloosa at Dallas or Memphis.

“Hands on Tuscaloosa is a wonderful collaboration of UA groups like the Student Government Association, Housing and Residential Communities, University Recreation, the SAA, the Black Student Union, the Honors College Assembly, the Ferguson Center and the CSC who are joining forces to provide opportunities for UA students to make an impact in Tuscaloosa right away,” said Wahnee Sherman, director of CSC.

The CSC is expecting several hundred students to participate in Hands On Tuscaloosa Saturday, Aug. 27.

“Immediately following the tornado there was a strong sense of community within Tuscaloosa, neighbors helping each other and volunteers going door-to-door to offer a hand,” said Alan Rose, SGA vice president of external affairs. “Hands on Tuscaloosa is an opportunity for students to continue in that spirit as they return to our campus this fall.”

Students interested in signing up for Hands on Tuscaloosa can do so through the Hands on Tuscaloosa link at www.volunteer.ua.edu. Students can register for each of the three service days separately.

For additional information on the CSC, go to www.volunteer.ua.edu or contact Sherman at wsherman@sa.ua.edu.