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Service Day

On October 5, 2010, Bethel held its 22nd annual Service Day. This day is set aside every fall so that hundreds of students and staff from Bethel are able to donate their time and services to multiple organizations and individuals throughout the Michiana community. Service Day 2010 began at 8:30 AM when the students and staff all gathered in the Everest-Rohrer auditorium to divide into their work groups. A brief devotional was given and the groups were dismissed to load onto their designated buses. The 20 buses and few supplemental vehicles departed the Bethel campus and were able to arrive at their individual locations around 9:30 AM.

During Service Day, 867 students and staff participated in blessing 56 organizations in South Bend, Mishawaka, Elkhart, Osceola, Granger, and Niles, MI. Service at each location varied from physical labor such as yard work, construction, and painting to personal interaction with the elderly and elementary school students. After a full day of hard work, the volunteers arrived back at Bethel around 1:30 PM feeling a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction regarding the day’s events.

Overall, Service Day 2010 was a complete success, evidence of this is found in some quotes from the day:

“Working together to serve the local community while meeting and getting to know each other better is amazing, and it was a wonderful opportunity to better understand what organizations are open to the community.” – Danielle Beers, Student
“As far as expectations, well they way over exceeded anything we ever hoped for. Your students were so into what they were doing…. What a day!” – Rodney Alabaugh, Feed the Children

Freshmen Orientation and Block Service

Freshmen at Bethel are required to do eight hours of community service as part of their Block course requirements. During freshmen orientation, the class serves the city of Mishawaka, by helping with clean-up of the river bank area. This event counts for three of the required hours.

At some time during the first semester, Block professors and mentors arrange for their individual blocks to do a service project together lasting at least two hours. Participation in these two events combined with Service Day, meet the service requirement for Bethel College freshmen.

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is a seasonal event put on by Samaritan’s Purse, an organization that ministers to suffering children by bringing "joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes and the Good News of God’s love". In November 2009, Bethel College students collected and donated 122 shoe boxes full of gifts for less fortunate children! This total for 2009 means that since first partnering with OCC in 2007, Bethel College has increased its donations by over 300%! Prayerfully consider how you can contribute to Operation Christmas Child in the future.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Bethel College canceled its classes from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 18th, 2010 providing an ideal time slot for service within the community. The Service Learning Center matched community organizations with campus groups, athletic teams, and clubs that chose to participate. Nine Bethel College groups including the Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams, Men’s Baseball team, Bethel College Cheerleaders, and multiple residential halls joined in celebrating the spirit of the day with afternoon community service projects. In total, 133 students, faculty, and staff served 9 organizations and neighbors. These groups did a variety of service projects ranging from interacting with residents at a nursing home, to cleaning and organizing, to visiting local homeless shelters. Service to others is the perfect way to remember the man who selflessly served his nation, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Labor for Your Neighbor

On April 17, 2010, the Service Learning Center held its second annual voluntary service day appropriately named, Labor for Your Neighbor. This opportunity was created to reach out to Bethel’s immediate neighbors and show them Christ’s love through manual labor and meaningful fellowship. Sixty–five Bethel students volunteered to participate and were able to serve twenty–eight neighbors surrounding the college. The students assisted the neighbors with tasks such as raking, gardening, pulling weeds, and painting. Once the students were finished with the spring cleaning, they invited the neighbors back to campus for a barbecue and a Bethel baseball game. This service opportunity has proved to be a huge success. The Service Learning Center is expecting to enlist a greater number of volunteers next year in order to serve even more neighbors in the community!

Praise and Pancakes

The goal of the Service Learning Center is to plan and facilitate at least one service opportunity per month for Bethel students to participate in. For February 2010, that event was Praise and Pancakes. On Sunday, February 21, forty Bethel students loaded into vans and made the trip to either Hope Ministries in Mishawaka or Faith Mission of Elkhart. Once at their respective locations, the students began preparing a pancake breakfast for the residents. As the morning continued, many students were able to eat with and get to know some of the residents. After the meal was finished, the students facilitated a worship service for everyone to participate in. The students were thrilled to be Jesus’ hand extended that morning and the residents were extremely appreciative to receive the love freely given by willing servants. The success and impact of this service opportunity will no doubt make it an annual event for the Service Learning Center.

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