Mavs in Action hosts hygiene pack event

Mavs in Action hosted another volunteer event in the Centennial Student Union last Thursday where students helped put together hygiene care packs, to be distributed to local organizations. 

Like the name suggests, the packs contained various hygiene products like soap, tooth brushes, toothpaste etc.

This event is the most recent of the weekly volunteer events hosted by Mavs in Action, a team of students dedicated to building community partnerships across the Greater Mankato Area. 

In order to collect as many supplies as possible, the team’s leaders reached out to local hotels and dental offices for donations on top of purchasing some supplies from stores. After students helped put together the packs, the packs were then donated to the Connections Shelter and the Mankato Salvation Army.

Interim assistant director for community engagement Crystal Watts talked about the reasons so many students volunteer at these kinds of events.

“A lot of our students come from places where volunteerism is just part of their fabric, part of how they grew up. Some of our students are coming to us because they might have a requirement for class. And then a good majority of our students are international and they are required to get up to 30 hours of volunteer service for their International Maverick scholarship,” Watts said. 

Many students go for more fervent reasons. Some talked about the good feeling  that comes with helping people in need. Others, like Nuhaid Taiseer and Ivan Molchanov, talked about the communal aspect.

“I feel like this was a really nice opportunity for me to get more involved in the community. Also, since I’m living in the U.S., so that I can get more familiar with people here and work with my peers like today I met people from a lot of countries including Nepal, than sometimes from Africa. So I think it’s a good opportunity to make connections,” Taiseer said.

“It’s a community, so you can share your passion with other people. It’s not just about volunteering,” Molchanov said.

Regardless of the reason students attend, Watts said she and the other team members make sure to tell them that it’s valid and they appreciate their attendance.

Mavs In Action meets at 4 p.m. Thursdays . Over the months, their events have grown drastically, so much so that one meeting reached up to a whopping 113 people registered. Watts talked about how they’ve had to make changes because of this influx of students.

“It’s fantastic and it’s a good problem to have, but we have to manage our resources wisely. So we moved here to the Heritage room on Thursdays and we cap our meeting attendance at around 45 to 50 depending on what it is we’re working on,” Watts said.

The Mavs in Action student volunteer leaders include Olivia Hall, Elise Sommer, Sai Lakku, Meghana Lakku, Jake Hauser and Leyla Farah.

Write to Jack Harding at jack.harding@mnsu.edu

Header Photo: Minnesota State’s Mavs in Action hosted a volunteer event Thursday to create hygiene care packs with soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and more. (Davis Jensen/The Reporter)