Westminster offers hand of friendship to Sugar House

Westminster College freshmen and local organizations got to know each other better recently, strengthening the bonds between the college and community that much more.

Westminster held its annual “Helping Hands Day” on Aug. 23, during which new students spent a large part of the day doing service work for organizations in Sugar House and beyond as part of freshman orientation. Two Sugar House locations that particularly benefitted from the students’ help were the American Lung Association and the Sprague Library.

“We were thrilled to have them,” Associate Librarian Tessa Epstein said. “They were delightful.”

The students cleaned bookshelves and straightened and back-shifted books in several areas of the library. Their hard work helped the library give good customer service to their patrons by improving the appearance of the place, because appealing displays encourage people to check out more books, Epstein said.

The librarians love having Westminster students come to the library to study, check out materials and get homework help, and some of the students already volunteer there regularly, she said.

“They want to give to their community, and we’re only too glad to give them the opportunity,” Epstein said.

Helping at the library also gave the freshman students a chance to become more familiar with Sugar House, which is a high priority to the college, she said.

Westminster places great value on responsible citizenship and hands-on learning, said Julie Tille, director of the college’s Center for Civic Engagement. “Helping Hands Day” gives freshman a chance to build relationships with organizations close by and find service opportunities they can return to later in the year.

“We feel that this is an opportunity to show the value we put on this from day one,” Tille said.

And there is no better place for the students to start than in Sugar House, since Westminster is a part of it and is constantly working to stay involved in that community.

“They’re our friends, they’re our partners,” Tille said. “We’re hoping they get as much out of it as the students do.”

The American Lung Association certainly did, as the students spent time there moving boxes and cleaning out trash to organize an office.

“This organization is very volunteer-driven,” Programs Manager Spencer Slade said.

Any help given frees up funding to be used where it is most needed: in research and education on lung diseases, he said.

The students also spent time with Big Brothers, Big Sisters children at Sugar House Park, weeded the Wasatch Community Gardens and Westminster Garden, planted trees in South Jordan, distributed flyers for No More Homeless Pets in Utah, did grounds and trail maintenance at Tracy Aviary, and did activities with children at the Hser Ner Moo Community Learning Center.