Bear Blitz Archives - Community Engagement Blog

Making a Difference Behind the Scenes

November 18, 2016 by

From Small Town to Springfield

Missouri State University’s Public Affairs mission is often something that is overlooked by both prospective and current students. While it is an extremely important aspect of the university, it is easy to be hidden underneath all of the other beautiful amenities Missouri State has to offer. This week, students are encouraged to focus on one specific pillar of the Public Affairs mission – Community Engagement. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘what are you doing for others?’” Well, this week the students, faulty, and alumni of Missouri State University need to focus on answering that question. What are YOU doing to help others in your community?

I left the small town I call home to come to Missouri State University in the Fall of 2013. While I did not realize it growing up, I quickly discovered that I had been extremely sheltered in my small, quiet town. I was never openly exposed to homelessness, hunger, or poverty. Although I know now that those issues were present where I grew up, they were always hidden from me as a child and adolescent. When I moved to Springfield, it became common to witness poverty wherever I went; I even witnessed it frequently on Missouri State’s campus.

At the beginning of this semester, I was in the right place at the right time and I was offered the opportunity to work in the Center for Community Engagement office. It was through this facility that I first learned about the Bear Blitz project. I learned about the current issues Springfield was facing through the Community Focus report, and how Northwest Springfield in particular was facing problems like access to food and transportation. When looking at the problems from a broad perspective, the idea of trying to make a difference seems like a challenging and daunting task. However, when many volunteers are willing to contribute their time and labor, the potential to change lives is incredible.

Vision Screening Program

The Vision Screening Program is a project that reaches out to daycares, elementary schools, and other establishments in an attempt to provide free vision screenings and color vision testing. The project uses a Spot Vision Screener, which is a portable, hand held hi-tech camera that takes a picture of the eyes. The camera can provide information as to whether or not the person being screened has myopia, hyperopia, or an astigmatism, and it is able to screen individuals as early as 6 months old. The program also includes color vision testing, which is completed by using a ColorDx testing booklet. The camera stores information like age and gender along with the screening results, which will be used in the future for research purposes. Although the focus of the program is mainly directed at children, the Vision Screening Program also extends their services to organizations like the Salvation Army Harbor House, and the Salvation Army Food Pantry, so that adults may be screened for free as well.

I am a research assistant for the Vision Screening Project. My jobs involve calling daycares and schools to schedule screenings, preparing packets of permission forms and information, preparing spreadsheets, and filing information. Although I normally perform the “behind the scenes” work of the project, I sometimes get the chance to participate in the actual screenings. After a whole semester of working on this project I finally got to lead my own vision screening, where I was personally able to screen 215 children completely on my own. It was so rewarding to actually go out into the community and see the difference the program was making firsthand, especially after all of the office work I had done to prepare for these events.

This experience has opened my eyes to the urgent need for change in the Springfield community, but it has also showed me the challenges associated with making that change. It is important to realize that volunteering isn’t all glamorous, and that not all parts of the process provide the same feeling of euphoria one gets when directly
helping others. The Springfield community needs Citizen Bears both behind the scenes and in the field in order to make sustainable, long lasting change.

^{-Lucy Beeler, Senior, Research Assistant in the Center for Community Engagement}

It Takes a Community

November 18, 2016 by John Lang

Bear Blitz is this year’s Public Affairs Signature Event, an event that really puts students out there to learn more about the issues Springfield faces as a community, how those affect the state, country, and world, and how they also affect each and every person in their daily walk. Bear Blitz is the University sending students to the streets of Northwest Springfield, referred to as Zone 1. A result of much research and planning, The Zone 1 Blitz is a city wide effort to improve the neighborhoods of Zone 1 and make for healthier and safer living. Much of the work being done is through the Springfield Community Gardens. These are places that residents can visit to receive fresh produce, and learn about healthy lifestyle choices they could implement into their own life. Through Bear Blitz, Missouri State students were able to help to make this goal a reality for the residents of those neighborhoods.

It is worth mentioning, I have worked in many community gardens around the country. Through Bear Breaks Immersion trips I have been able to witness different types of gardens in different cities, that each focus on specific issues that plague their community. I have had great experiences, and some that were not so great. I have learned more than I can fit into one post about how big of an impact a garden can make on a community. But what I have learned most was driven deeper today than I can imagine. I was reminded one person cannot possibly maintain a garden for an entire community, but when an entire community comes together, no one person has to feel like they are over worked. As I have heard it put, “Many hands make for light work.”

I volunteered at the Hovey House Community Garden, and had an experience I won’t soon forget. It may have been a little slow at times, but that led to discussions and relationship building that cannot be rivaled. I like to say, “Friends that serve together, stay together,” and I think there is more truth to it than I know. Relationships built around service are built on mutual respect, humility, humanity, meaningful dialogue and vulnerability.

To begin our service I was given a shovel and told to loosen up the soil so marble slabs that had been buried would be able to be reached. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. I wasn’t getting the chance to get my hands dirty, or do anything that I had really expected. Hopeful for work that would be more “fun”, I, along with another MSU volunteer, was given a pitchfork and told to go find the previously mentioned marble slab. After about thirty minutes of stabbing the ground with a fork hoping to hit a rock, we had collected three slabs of marble about the size of a keyboard. We were fooled time and again by pebbles that would hit the pitchfork only to let our hopes down when we dug around. I finally got my hands dirty and felt like I did something, even if I had few results to show for it.

The next phase was the part that will keep me coming back. A truck Ozarks Food Harvest came and delivered dozens of boxes of food, the majority being fruits and vegetables. I was not sure what the purpose was at the time, but I jumped in and carried things where I could. What blew me away was the efficiency at which everyone worked to unload the truck. Even with between 10-15 volunteers and a very small shed,I never felt cramped. Everyone was split into three stations, unloading, unpacking and box tear down. I am not exaggerating when I say the hundreds of pounds of food had been sorted and packed away withing about ten minutes of beginning. For a short time I stopped and tried to just take a step back to realize how amazing this system was working.

While I was welcome to leave after this, I stayed for about another hour. I sat and talked to other volunteers, mostly just community members, for almost all of it. I asked how they became involved, what kept them coming back, and more and answered similar questions, but more than anything we just talked. We shared life experiences, stories, and thoughts. We swapped ideas, opinions, and goals. It was unbelievably refreshing. So often when we serve, we are not actually serving with our whole heart, but instead just getting our hours in for our scholarships, classes, organizations, or resumes. Being out there this week helped me to realize how many people live in Zone 1 and are looking to improve their life. They are looking for a way to enrich their lives, and many of those I met today are able to use service to their community as the vehicle.

Bear Blitz encourages students to pop the college bubble. It challenges preconceived notions and forces inward reflection. All it takes is an hour of your time and you can go from being frustrated with digging for rocks to being an engaged citizen that is eager to learn about others’ lives and what they think. It’s that easy. For more information on how you can serve these communities, feel free to visit the Center for Community Engagement in PSU 131, online at our website, or at http://givepulse.com. There is so much work to be done, we cannot possibly do it on our own, but any hands we can get lightens the load.

_{-John Lang, Junior, Student Coordinator, Center for Community Engagement}

Bear Blitz: Committing to Change

November 17, 2016 by

My experience serving as a coach for Girls on the Run

Serving Community Needs

This week, Missouri State students have been challenged to put the Public Affairs Mission into action by serving Springfield in the ways it needs the most help. Various projects including the Community Focus Report and Community Listen meetings have helped determine what the true needs of the Springfield community are. These reports provide a great deal of information on where our community struggles, as well as what it struggles most with. This week, I want to focus on a need that resonates with students.

At Missouri State, many of us fall into the category of students who are required to complete service for one reason or another. All too often, we are guilty of completing our service as just that, required. Many of us, myself included at times, complete service like an item on our to do list, we find one Saturday that we are free and find any service opportunity that will result in “approved” service. While giving your time, however you decide to do it, is valuable, what the community truly needs is individuals who volunteer on a regular basis.

Long-term volunteers are individuals an organization, a community, or an individual can count on to be a consistent contribution to change. This could be volunteering biweekly at the Community Gardens of Springfield, providing childcare at The Fairbanks every Thursday, or whatever way your interests and skills can benefit the community best. For me, it was serving as a coach for Girls on the Run of Southwest Missouri.

Girls on the Run

Girls on the Run is a program that inspires confidence and healthy choices in girls in the 3rd-5th grade. After a full year of avoiding the organization because I was not a runner, I first became involved with the program in the fall of 2014 as a full-time coach. I was assigned to work at a Title I school in Northwest Springfield. I was told this was a school that sometimes had a great deal of behavioral issues, as well as a difficulty with coach retention.

My first season was not easy, and there were many hurdles in volunteering. It was scary to commit a semester’s worth of Monday and Wednesday afternoons to volunteering. There were a lot of behavioral issues and girls who had a hard time listening to a group of college-aged coaches they had never met. However, it was not long before I recognized the difference we were making.

I continued to coach at this school for five consecutive seasons. Myself, and another coach actually scheduled our classes around our “Girls on the Run Time.” As the seasons continued, we built relationships with the girls, their parents, and the faculty at the school. As those relationships grew, so did our girls. We have a mixture of girls who are repeat participants and brand new participants each season. Girls who were our most problematic girls in our first season turned into leaders who were the first to answer a question or help out another teammate.

I graduate this December, so this Monday I coached my very last practice with the school I have spent five seasons and two and a half years with. I have had the fortune of serving an organization that I am passionate about and seeing the results right in front of my eyes. I can say that I have made a difference in the lives of girls who have also made a huge difference in mine. It is the relationships that I built through my commitment to this cause and these girls that allowed me to make a bigger impact than I could have ever hoped for.

It is tempting to get caught up in tomorrow’s exam, next week’s work schedule, and that meeting every Tuesday that always goes over time, and convince yourself that you do not have the time to commit yourself to one more thing. However, I challenge you to find the time. Find something that you are passionate about and commit yourself to change. By doing this, we as Citizen Bears can make the greatest impact on our community, the impact the community truly needs.

If you need assistance finding a long-term service opportunity that fits your interests, visit the Center for Community Engagement in PSU 131. You can also contact us at 417-836-5774, or by email at volunteer@missouristate.edu.

^{-Melissa Stallbaumer, Student Specialist in the Center for Community Engagement}

Panhellenic Association a Partner for Bear Blitz and Beyond

November 15, 2016 by Alex Johnson

The Panhellenic Association is proud to partner with the Center for Community Engagement in support of the Zone 1 Blitz. Our hope is that we can positively impact the Springfield community with our time, our talents, and our philanthropic donations.

Many of Missouri State University’s sororities support local and national philanthropies that help families battling cancer, premature babies, children who are hard of hearing, promote physical activities for children, children with developmental delays, Alzheimer’s, and adults as they age. Missouri State University’s Panhellenic organizations are supporting every stage of life within families. Because of this, The Panhellenic Association is working to encourage its sororities to serve the families living in Zone 1 in any capacity they are able.

This service may include women babysitting for families attending a session at the Drew Lewis Foundation. Every Thursday at the Drew Lewis Foundation, the Grant Beach Neighborhood can take classes learning about pregnancy and how to sew. Or, this service may include donating food to people and families in areas of Zone 1 who are unable to afford food or afford the transportation to a market.

Ultimately, the goal of the Panhellenic Association is to assist the Center for Community Engagement in any capacity needed. We are proud to serve the Springfield community and Zone 1. You can find more information about the Zone 1 Bear Blitz here.

^{-Mickie Plummer, senior Socio-Political Communication major, Panhellenic Association: Vice President of Community Relations}

Join the Homecoming Queen in Service!

November 15, 2016 by Alex Johnson

On Monday I had the opportunity to volunteer at one of the 19 community gardens in the city of Springfield. This was my first experience serving with the Springfield Community Gardens, but I can confidently say it won’t be my last. The Springfield Community Gardens, established in 2010, has distributed over 100,000 pounds of produce to families in need. This impact would not be possible if it weren’t for the 6,500 volunteer hours logged by community members, including Missouri State students.

The Springfield Community Gardens exist to “improve food choices and environment, create a sense of place, build relationships and social capital, and retain/attract families, businesses, and young professionals.” The mission of this organization ties right in with Bear Blitz, Missouri State’s Public Affairs Community Engagement Project. The focus of Bear Blitz is to serve the people of Zone 1 (Northwest Springfield), in areas such as food access and transportation.

Residents who live near one of the 19 community gardens are able to help tend to the garden in exchange for produce. Individuals who take advantage of a Springfield Community Garden can reap benefits such as “helping their families be better fed, better off financially, and in better health.”

My volunteer shift at the community garden on W Calhoun Street consisted of clearing away weeds and overgrowth along the edge of the grounds. Other volunteers tilled the ground, spread fertilizer, and prepared a space for mulch to cover the area around fruit trees. My volunteer experience at the Springfield Community Gardens allowed me to spend time outside on an oddly warm and beautiful November afternoon, work alongside fellow Missouri State students, and serve an area of Springfield that is greatly appreciative of our help.

The Springfield Community Gardens has several chances each week for students to get involved. It is a great opportunity for those of you who enjoy being outdoors, and appreciate seeing tangible results of your service hours. You can be a part of the Missouri State Bear Blitz, and sign up for volunteer experiences through the Springfield Community Gardens, or other like-minded organizations by visiting www.givepulse.com.

^{-Tai Thrasher, Senior, Public Relations major}