Join the Mavs in Action and give back
Emmanuella Shokare
Staff Writer
Looking for how to give back to your community or volunteering? Do you enjoy working behind the scenes and getting good leadership experience that can be added to your resume?
We have it right here at Mavs in Action.
Mavs in Action started three years ago by MSU students who volunteered at the Community Engagement Office and helped plan events to get students and the Mankato community to get engaged.
Over the years, they have worked with the Community Engagement Office to plan and have volunteered in events such as the Sibley Park clean up, apple picking to benefit the Campus Kitchen, Chili cook off, National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week, Martin Luther King Day of Service, Maverick Holiday Carnival, Alternative Spring Break, and Doctor Seuss.
Mavs in Action meets at the Community Engagement Office (CSU 171) every Thursday at 4:00pm.
The students are also given the opportunity to plan their own events that has to do with community engagement. They can also partner with RSOs on campus for events that is also related to the Community Engagement.
Like now they are planning on how to reduce food insecurities especially among college students by providing some places where students can get food from.
This different events are beneficial as to give students the opportunity to do hands on work. “What I think about that is that anybody who is interested in volunteering with kids, for example, that would be great especially for people who want to eventually work with kids to get a little hands on experience now that the person could be a freshman and know how it feels like to be with kids than wait till their senior year and realize that they don’t like it and want to change their major,” said Karen Anderson, Assistant Director of Community Engagement.
Volunteering brings that sense of satisfaction that you have done something right and maybe helped someone in need. According to Karen, volunteering is like a bandage used to stop a bleeding.
Like participating in community engagement, you can use the opportunity to create awareness of some things going on in the community that need more attention and it may be ignored and as a volunteer, you can help make it known to the greater community; maybe from there the things that are needed to be done will be done and this is what Mavs in Action is trying to do.
“It’s very exciting to see students grow through the projects that we work on together,” said Karen Anderson.
There is no need for pre-experience because participating in Mavs in Action would prepare you for that experience. This also helps with students who need to improve on their communication skills, organization, planning and balancing time to name a few.
Are you in need for more volunteers for a community engagement event planned by Mavs in Action? They post it on Engage, (mnsumankato.campuslabs.com/engage) and students can sign up to volunteer.
For more information, contact Karen Anderson at karen.anderson@mnsu.edu.
Feature photo courtesy of MNSU website.