A newsletter for the students, faculty and staff of the Collin County Community College District. Published monthly. For information or submissions, call 972.599.3142. Cougar News welcomes student and faculty submissions. Next deadline: April 10 All submissions are due by 5 p.m. on the due date. Photos cannot be returned. Text should be e-mailed to mrobinson@ccccd.edu or sent on disk. Please submit copy that is proofed, edited and saved in Word format. Cougar News staff: Lisa Vasquez, director; Mark Robinson, editor; Marcy Cadena-Smith, contributor; Sydney Portilla-Diggs, student correspondent; Stephanie Hall, student correspondent; Lydia Gober, special contributor; Nick Young, photographer.
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‘Class of Hearts’ lends a helping hand to hurricane victims
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| Students in sociology professor Debbie White’s class packed up and labeled boxes for victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita at a Plano warehouse. | A small group of students were able to make a significant contribution to the hurricane relief efforts last semester.
The students were enrolled in a psychology course on death and dying. The psychology department awarded three grants to psychology classes through a pilot program titled “Service Learning through Philanthropy” in which students register for a course which has been designated as a service-learning course in the schedule of classes.
The goal of the project was: “To afford students an opportunity to make meaningful connections between course curriculum and the larger social environment through active civic engagement. In accordance with the goal of all service-learning involvement, it is anticipated that students will develop a fuller understanding of their place in the social structure and meaningfully connect the social issues of their community with civic responsibility.”
The students were informed they had to assess community needs and formulate a proposal for spending the money. They conducted computer searches and contacted agencies and organizations for additional information. They developed proposals which were aimed at helping bereaved children, dying children, dying adults and hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuees and all were discussed and considered. The students would decide all these issues.
“We had discussed the idea that a study of death and dying is actually a study of life and living and loss,” sociology professor Debbie White said. “Katrina evacuees were arriving daily and the student discussions kept going back to the proposal concerning the evacuees. We took a field trip to the Plano warehouse of St. Vincent de Paul and participated in preparing ‘houses in a box’ for the evacuees. They saw the enormity of the task at hand and decided to coordinate drives to collect needed supplies.”
The students developed a plan and collected sheets, pillows, blankets, car loads of cleaning supplies by working with their other professors and fellow students. Students also contacted businesses in search of donations to the “houses in a box.”
According to White, the students developed and executed a plan to double their grant money. They decided to use their own money to purchase a bulk sum of rubber bracelets engraved with the message “Hurricane Help” and developed a marketing plan. They sold as many as they could and then fearing they might not reach their goal, came up with alternatives.
“By this time the public pretty much saw the relief efforts as a ‘done deal’ and were turning a blind eye or, regretfully, at times were downright negative toward the students’ efforts,” White said. “However, this class was in the thick of the effort and knew there were still thousands in the area waiting for help. They decided to contact a local Sonic and arranged to car hop there on two Saturdays in November so they could add their tips to the cause.”
By the end of the semester the students had donated thousands of dollars in supplies and $2,050.50 in cash to the relief effort.
“They learned a lot about life and loss and the power of working together in active civic engagement,” White said. “As their professor I have to say they taught me a lot about the heart and the fortitude of our students. In my mind I have dubbed them the ‘class of hearts.’ I know they will continue to be active participants in the community wherever their future leads them and that community will be, indeed, fortunate to have them.”
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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