A few years ago when BYU students volunteered in Southeast Asia, they spent their time working in the fields. Today when students volunteer there, they spend their time teaching the people English. Why? The people they were working with told the students that they already knew how to work their fields and could do it alone, but if they knew English, they would be able to leave the fields and get a better job in the city.

“Using their education and academic expertise, students can have a greater impact than they would by just donating time and strength,” said Lynn Henrichsen, a professor of linguistics and English language who trains students before they go abroad to teach English. “Service-learning truly fits BYU’s motto of ‘Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve.’”

Teaching English abroad is just one example of service learning. The trend toward service-learning is growing at schools in Utah and on a national scale.

According to the Community Involvement and Service-Learning Web site of the University of Minnesota, service-learning involves earning credit for a class where students are involved with community organizations and projects as a part of their course work in order to apply class principles to service experiences. Service-learning is a national initiative in higher education, and it is being implemented in various departments of many universities.

“The trend toward service-learning is part of a turning point in volunteerism around the country, and college students are right in the middle of it,” said Casey Peterson, director of the BYU Center for Service and Learning. “Students are no longer interested in traditional services organizations such as Kiwanis and Lion’s clubs, but the spirit of service is alive and strong in today’s youth and the number of service hours is increasing. It is typical of this generation to want to apply the things that they are learning. They don’t just want to read a book. ”

The way that service-learning programs are implemented is different at every university, but the principles of service are the same, Peterson said. BYU focuses on the grassroots efforts of service-learning. BYU does not currently designate service-learning courses, but 30-40 percent of classes at BYU have a service-learning component, and other service is done by students on an individual basis through programs at the Center for Service and Learning. Student can also enroll in StDev 214, “Learning Through Service,” to learn more about the methods, theories and applications of service so that they can then integrate these into their own majors.

“One reason that the trend towards service-learning is growing is that students who were involved with experiential service courses during college, are now becoming faculty members and professors,” Peterson said. “They realize the benefits of service-learning, because they were involved in it when they were students.”

Some disciplines, such as education, languages and health related majors, can lend themselves more easily to service learning, but service can be integrated into any field of study.

Scott Hannay, a recently graduated Latin American Studies major and BYU’s former Service Council president, worked to integrate service into his education. Before serving on the service council, he worked on a committee for the Food and Care Coalition and spent two years as a program director for Project Youth.

“As you get involved with service at any level, you develop the habit of thinking about how you can make a difference no matter where you are,” Hannay said. “You will start thinking about how you can apply service to whatever field you are studying.”

Scott used to just worry about finding a career that would allow him to provide well for his family, but now he thinks about how he can use his studies to make a difference for families around the globe, he said.

“Learning about the Latin American people has motivated me to work on implementing programs for them in this area,” Hannay said. “This idea grew out of my service experiences and my major.”

There are many people and groups willing to help students and universities incorporate service-learning at some level. Campus Compact is a national organization designed to encourage civic engagement and help universities integrate service into their curriculums. This organization promotes service-learning, volunteerism, advocacy and activism among college students at public and private universities.

“The way that service is integrated into the classroom is up to the university because effective integration methods differ from school to school,” said Melissa Miller Kincart, executive director of Utah Campus Compact. “Some students and faculty would rather keep civic engagement outside the classroom, but all around the trend is to mix service-learning in some way with student affairs.”

In Utah there are three colleges that are working to integrate one model for civic engagement, service and academics. These schools are Weber State University, Westminster College and the University of Utah. The other schools, like BYU, have separate programs.

The WON Heart Foundation, founded by the Nielsen family has served the Houston community and the world. The mission of this family foundation is to find ways to make the world a stronger, safer, more peaceful place…one heart at a time. The Nielsen family firmly believes that there has never been a greater need for traditional family values and open- hearted generosity to help in healing a troubled world. Some of The Won Heart Foundation successes include raising money to help bridge the gap of the latch-key kid revolution, and hosting a charity golf tournament, which has raised nearly five million dollars for the past 21 years funding the building of Houston area parks and a YMCA after-school program.

Giff is on the executive board of the Boy Scouts of America, Sam Houston Area Council. He has been inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame, the Utah Hall of Fame and into the College Football Hall of Fame.

The most important career accomplishment either of them has is their family. The world needs strong families with loving connections and a desire to reach out and share with communities.

All medical supplies with an expiration date must have at least 13 months of
good date left when the items are donated. The following first-aid items in original packaging are needed:
· Ace bandages
· Adhesive bandages, 1″ wide
· Adhesive tape, 1″ wide
· Cotton balls, sterile and non-sterile
· Tongue depressors
· Cotton swabs, sterile and non-sterile
· Gauze pads, all sizes
· Gauze rolls, all sizes
· Paper tape, 1″ wide

Your donations will be checked for quality and compliance with standards. All items should be appropriate to send to any country. Please be sensitive to not send items with prints of religious symbols, flags or military themes.

Making cloth bags for school kits (more detailed instructions available online)
Bag
· Cut one piece heavy, durable fabric 14×36 inches or two pieces 14×18 inches
· With right sides together, sew side seams and across the bottom, ½ inch seam
· Serge or zig-zag all seams
· Serge or zig-zag around the top opening of the bag
· Turn top hem down 1 ½ “ and sew
Handles
· Cut two handles 24×3 ½ inches (1 inch webbing may be substituted )
· Fold long sides in ½” then fold in half, lengthwise and sew down both long sides
· Attach and reinforce handles 2” from side seam along hem. Repeat on opposite side.
Handles should be able to hang comfortably over a shoulder like a purse, length
about 21” long

· Sew a 3” strip of Velcro on inside of bag between handle straps

These can be dropped off at the LDS Humanitarian Center. Ship or deliver completed items to:
Latter-day Saint Humanitarian Center
1665 South Bennett Road
Salt Lake City, UT 84104
Telephone (801) 240-5954
Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday
Completed items may also be taken to the nearest Deseret Industries store or bishops’ storehouse. Seal boxes and mark them Latter-day Saint Humanitarian Center-SLC. They will then be shipped to the Latter-day Saint
Humanitarian Center.

Locations of Deseret Industries stores and bishops’ storehouses may be found by calling (801) 240-5954.

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught:

A true Latter-day Saint is to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to provide for the widow, to dry up the tear of the orphan, to comfort the afflicted, whether in this Church or in any other or in no church at all, wherever he finds them.
(Times and Seasons, 15 Mar. 1842, 732)

The Saints in ancient America–in the prophet Alma’s day–did not send away any who were naked or that were hungry or that were athirst or that were sick…therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in need (The Book of Mormon, Alma 1:30).

If you desire to serve the needy throughout the world, including those in your own community, you might consider the following practical opportunities:

• Pay a generous fast offering, as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons).
• Give generously to the Church’s Humanitarian Aid Fund. All money donated to this fund goes to serve the poor and needy of the world without regard to race, religion or nationality.
• Donate usable items, including clean clothing, to Deseret Industries. Not only will this benefit the needy within your community, but surplus items are sent to the Latter-day Saint Humanitarian Center for future relief efforts.
• Volunteer to work at Humanitarian Service Rooms or other Church welfare facilities.
• Commodities produced at these facilities are used to provide humanitarian aid.
• Volunteer at an agency that assists people in your community.

Established community organizations offer many opportunities to serve, including providing meals to the homeless, teaching adults to read, and mentoring at-risk youth. Such service not only blesses those in need, but also fosters unity between Church members and the community.

• Contact your bishop about serving a mission. Opportunities for full-time service are listed in a bulletin sent to him each month.
• Part-time/service mission opportunities can be found online at www.lds.org

In 1982, Virgil and a small group of veterans and missionaries responded to a series of letters from the Thachs by founding the Veterans Association for Service Activities Abroad. Under Virgil’s leadership, the 300-member organization has since helped to resettle and/or reunify hundreds of refugee families from Vietnam and other countries ravaged by war.

Besides organizing volunteers to work with hospitals, clinics, and schools in Vietnam, Virgil has worked in the Ukraine, where he gathered 12 tons of medical and educational supplies. He has also worked on humanitarian projects in Mexico.

Virgil retired from active military duty in 1983, completing nearly 30 years of Navy and Air Force service. He holds a BA degree from BYU and a PhD from the University of Utah. He and his wife, Lela, have five children.

BYU Magazine Alumni Service Awards 1997

Regulars and newcomers are welcome to participate and enjoy the gratitude and rewards as unsuspecting peers respond when volunteers show up at their doors in orange shirts offering to help with simple acts of service.

According to the program director, Ashley Pearl, BYUSA’s Service Squad group meets every Wednesday night outside the student government office before splitting up into groups to visit on-and off-campus housing, looking for spontaneous ways to aid and assist others.

Vomocil, an actuarial science student from Marshfield, Wisconsin., and Lopez, Vomocil’s roommate and a pre-acting major from Honolulu, Hawaii, caught the contagion. Apparently, the Service Squad showed up on their doorstep one semester, and as a result,Vomocil decided to personally volunteer with the group.

“It was just a good time,” he said. “Even doing something simple like taking out the trash … you can make somebody a little happier.”

Kearl said Service Squad provides an easy way for students to get involved. “It’s only an hour a week,” she said. “It’s short and sweet. You just show up.” Students can volunteer when they have time, assist in planning or take specific roles within the Service Squad, she said.

This semester, the Service Squad will offer a date night, a dinner and occasional treats. Volunteers will also be working with BYU wards to identify specific needs, Kearl said. “We’re always looking for new ways to serve people,” she said.

The Service Squad meets at 7 p.m. every Wednesday outside WSC 3400 and welcomes volunteers.

Place the following items in a heavy-duty, two-gallon sealable bag. Remove the air before sealing:

4 single thickness cloth diapers

• Approximately 25×27 inches

• Birdseye Cloth or diaper flannel, 100% cotton

• No pre-fold or disposable diapers

4 diaper safety pins

1 pair booties or baby socks

2 bars of soap 3.5-5 ounces each (Ivory or other
non-allergenic brand)

1 receiving blanket (36×36 – 45×45 inches)

1 layette gown

• No footed sleepers, buttons, zippers or strings

• Size: Newborn to 6 months, Fabric: cotton knit

• Layette gown patterns are available at the LDS Humanitarian Center, Humanitarian Service Rooms and at www.humanitarianservices.org.

Fleece
Cut a 36×36 – 45×45 inch square of medium weight fleece.  Serge, hem or blanket-stitch edges.

Flannel:
Method 1
Cut two 36×36 – 45×45 inch squares of cotton flannel.  Serge the edges with right sides facing out.  Sew large ‘X’ corner to corner or a 10 inch square in the center to keep fabric from shifting.

Method 2
· Cut two 36×36 – 45×45 inch squares of cotton flannel.  Place the squares together with right sides facing in.  Sew squares together with a ¼ inch seam around the edges, leaving a 6 inch opening.  Turn right sides out.  Baste opening and topstitch around entire blanket for durability.  Sew a large ‘X’ corner to corner or a 10 inch square in the center to keep the fabric in place.

For questions, please call the Center at 1-800-453-3860 ext. 26060.  The official Church site is lds.org/humanitarian.

In Riverside, California, over 100 women, Mormons and Muslims, engaged in conversation and made quilts for Project Linus–an initiative to provide blankets  to children of trauma. The second joint service effort proved fruitful for both recipients and participants.

As Cindy Marinez, writer for Press Enterprise, records:

They sat shoulder to shoulder, Muslim women next to Mormon women, hunched over bright fabric as they learned to quilt.

As the conversations grew comfortable, the women discovered their religions, and their lives, had many common threads.

Their worship, community service, husbands and children, good schools, safe neighborhoods — and the list went on for the more than 100 who met Saturday morning at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Riverside.

Many of the Muslim women–unveiled in this setting of all women, originally came from Pakistan but have established residence in the United States.

Bina Majeed, speaking on behalf of the Muslim women, indicated there was common ground; their religion teaches them “humanity” towards all.  Aisha, of the group, also remarked on the similarities of those who otherwise have some distintly different beliefs:

“We start asking how many kids they’ve got,” Mateen said. “We laugh and we all have the same problems.”

“You’d be surprised how universal getting a teenager to clean his room is,” many of the women said with a knowing smile.

This is not a unique experience among Latter-day Saints.  Mormons join hands in worldwide service partnerships with  Catholic Relief organizations, Islamic charities, and other religious and charitable foundations.