About 600 students spent the day off from classes Monday volunteering at local schools, community centers and retirement homes alongside high-ranking government employees and GW administrators for the annual service day.
University President Steven Knapp volunteered alongside White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, U.S. Trade Rep. Michael Froman and about two dozen students as they assembled care packages for wounded veterans at Dunbar High School in Northwest D.C.
While the string of volunteers filled backpacks with clothing and toiletries, other students across the city painted classroom walls, visited childcare centers and sorted school materials. GW students, faculty and staff have volunteered on the national holiday since 2001.
Knapp, donning a t-shirt from volunteer organization Points of Light, quoted King, who said, “Life’s persistent and most urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'”
“I think that’s a question that we’re also thinking about, not just because of Dr. King, but also because of Nelson Mandela, and how Nelson Mandela and King are two great examples of ethical service that our students are engaged in,” Knapp said about the former South African president who died in December.
The Truxton Circle neighborhood high school, located at 1st and N streets, also hosted a panel discussion about career advice and resume tips for veterans.
Organizations such as Code of Support, the American Legion Auxiliary and the D.C. Office of Veterans Affairs lined the school’s atrium with booths.
“As a student at GW, it’s important to give back to the community and give service to help more than just ourselves. Working today means more than just hours on a resume, but to actually help people who live in our area,” sophomore Joshua Nunez said.
The day of service comes five months after the 50th anniversary of King’s “I Have a Dream Speech,” when students packed the National Mall to hear President Barack Obama speak on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Koby Langley, a senior executive adviser for AmeriCorps, said the day allows students to connect with communities off campus.
“Obviously the students who are engaged in service at their college or university around the country live in their communities, but are not necessarily from their communities,” he said. “It’s a great way to bridge that community gap that a lot of students face.”
Delores Morton, president of Points of Light’s programs division, said students jumped straight into assisting her staff.
“The interesting thing about college students is they bring their own energy and spirit and kind of an esprit de corps to an event,” she said. “They don’t want to sit around and wait. They want to work from the moment they walk in the door.”
Morton added that Knapp’s appearance issued a “challenge to his peers in higher education.”
“It helps us to elevate it and hopefully cause other colleges and universities to take on that mantra of volunteering from a leadership perspective,” she said.
– Brianna Gurciullo contributed reporting
