SUN Center sets records

College of Eastern Utah Serving Utah’s Network Center continued to set records as they completed 5,479 hours of service in the community involving 1,286 volunteers fall semester, reported its director Kathy Murray. The monetary worth of service to the community is $110, 949.75.
She said the SUN Center’s biggest success in terms of volunteers was the Angel Tree project with 169 volunteers followed by the Bread ‘N Soup nights with 160 volunteers. However, every project her students worked on was successful because it helped someone or something.
Murray said the Bread ‘N Soup nights broke the previous record set last year, by collecting and donating $3,805 to the Carbon County Food Bank. This surpasses any donation made by CEU in the last 11 years, and brings the grand total to $23,533.59 that CEU has given to the food bank.
The SUN Center had 16 student leaders over 881 volunteers fall semester. They completed 32 projects.
“It’s nice to see in black and white what has helped students build their own awareness of community, strengthened others in need. Service has also given opportunities for our students to develop talents, skills and peace of mind by scheduling time to include others needs into their very busy lives,” she writes.
“Thanks for the support, strength and encouragement of the CEU community,” she said. “We have Steven Nelson working with the faculty, Greg Benson as the representative for Utah State Campus Compact.”
The George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation gave $13,000 to the SUN Center followed by CEU Alumni Association $400, Tony Basso $100, Van Mays Insurance $100 and Brad King $100.
She thanks the CEU community for the service they give. ” It’s been a hard year for everyone and I appreciate your fight to keep this wonderful institution going and doing good things.”
Many of the students wrote about their experiences volunteering in the SUN Center.
Kellie Burke-Gabossi volunteered at the Family Support and Children Justice Center. “I know I made a different with my service. My assistance was greatly needed during the entire semester; between the Harvest Ball and the children, it would have taken much longer to complete everything if I had not been there to help. At one time there were two children in the nursery who only knew how to speak Spanish. I have taken Spanish class for three years, so I was able to help them understand what to do for rewards and what was not appreciated. This helped the children and the other workers. I enjoyed my time volunteering; this definitely won’t be my last time.”
Emilee Hales volunteered at the CEU Pre-School. “My career is to be an elementary school teacher. I want to teach music to children. This opportunity helped me understand how to work with children and settle their small differences. I also taught them to work and to have fun together. They would have arguments but would work them out, usually with my help.
“I learned their names quickly and found what they enjoyed doing individually. There was this one little girl who would never leave my side, and if I walked away she would get extremely upset and start crying. I had to help her be more independent, play with the other children and have a good time. This helped her, but more importantly it helped me to quickly solve problems and come up with solutions.”
The things I learned in this project will help me when I go on to future jobs and in my own relationships with other people. But more importantly this will help me with my future family and how I should react and teach my children. I am grateful for this opportunity and will continue to serve throughout my lifetime.”
Tara Harvey volunteered at the Carbon County Animal Shelter. “I have helped at the animal shelter, given to the food bank, and played bingo with children. None of these things really felt like I was doing service because I enjoyed them and was having fun. Maybe that is what happens when you are helping someone who needed it, instead of it being work it becomes fun. The animal shelter was probably my favorite thing that I did. I loved all the dogs and wanted to just adopt them all for myself … ..The feeling of doing something good for someone else consumes you while you are in the work.”
Jacqueline Henseler volunteered at the Castleview Hospital Pink Lady Auxiliary. “I want to be a nurse and feel that if I volunteer in a setting that would put me in contact with patients, I would not only be helping people, but would become familiar working in a hospital … .I think the thing I liked best is that I have some tasks that are always the same, but you never know who you will meet … .I think I made a difference every time I smile at someone, or listen to them, or just do whatever needs to be done. I am going to continue working and look forward to it every week … . I think deciding to become a volunteer has been the best thing I have done in a long time.
Chris Howes volunteered in the CEU Bone Lab. “As I searched for a project to focus on, I wanted to do something exciting and that would interest me. I read about the CEU bone lab and CEU Museum. As a kid and even now I have always been interested and read much about dinosaurs and their time on Earth. So that caught my eye and got me excited to do service.
“I learned how to clean the bones by using simple methods such as water and dental picks to clean off dirt and debris.
“The first bone I did was pretty simple and took me about an hour to clean and prepare.
“The second bone was a special bone and the director John Bird, said it was rare to find these; it was an articulated bone, or part of the hand of a dinosaur. He gave me the task of cleaning and preparing the bone and putting it back together.
“As I began to unwrap the bone from the toilet paper and plastic, it fell apart in four to six pieces! This worried me and I got nervous, but John just told me to clean it all up and then start gluing the smaller parts together, and to try and keep it articulated.
“I began to do this by using something called an air scribe, which is a pencil-looking tool with a metal point that moves in fast vibrations by way of air. It is sensitive and quick, and I had to move carefully to not break off any of the bone, just the sandstone. Once I was done with cleaning the bone, I glued the bones together. I found this was more difficult. I asked John what else I could do, because the glue was not working. He told me of a different technique called bondo. This is a mixture of color and a tougher kind of glue that holds the bone together and makes it look original. But one must be quick to mix the bondo, put it on the bone and to then let it sit and harden. This took me about four hours to finish and classify the bone, which was part of a dinosaur called Therizinosaur.
“This was a tedious and long process, and that is only showing one bone about the size of my hand. I believe it would take patience to be a paleontologist and much effort, but it does have great rewards to see what you have found and recreated. Service gives a great opportunity to feel good about what you have done and to learn new things.
Chantelle Kelly volunteers at the Carbon County Food Bank. “I chose to do my service learning project at the food bank. I really enjoyed the time I spent there.
“I met an array of different people. Some people had been volunteering for 15 years and some were court appointed to be there; either way these people who work and volunteer there are wonderful, giving people.
“To devote time unselfishly to help others was really an inspiration to me and my family, and I was surprised how many people are truly in need of food.
“On Saturdays I would go with a man who had been volunteering for 15 years to local grocers to pick up pastries, meat and dairy. He devotes all his extra time to the food bank. He gets up at 7:30 a.m. and off he goes. He never says no and he is never late but always ready to help … ..
“I met a lot of good people going through life’s struggles … .I guess in a way, we could all relate to one another which made it one of the best times I have ever had at school … . I am moving away to a job now so I had to say goodbye to all my new friends. I was touched that some were sad to hear they would never see me again. I am truly going to volunteer my time in my new location.”
Adriane Weihing (International Language Program) volunteered teaching English and reading to Mexican children.
“On August 14, I arrived in Tehuacan, Mexico, with 10 other volunteers, to begin the journey of a lifetime. I volunteered to teach English to kids for four months … … I had always wanted to do something like that, so when the opportunity presented itself, I took it.
“While I was in high school, my dad was the president of a Spanish church group in my home town. At first, I just went to support my dad, but then it turned into something I loved.
“Every day was a reward, but the thing that I enjoyed the most was when I could see the progress made in the students … This opportunity I’ve had has opened my eyes in many different ways. I have discovered that teaching is a very rewarding career, and it is needed everywhere. But more importantly, I’ve learned that helping others and volunteering gives me much happiness.”