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MU Beat – Spring Break Service

by Heather Weiner - April 3, 2017

“Character, scholarship, culture, and service are the core values of the Mansfield University Creed,” explains Mansfield University President, Fran Hendricks. “In this edition of the Mansfield Beat, we are going to focus on service. MU students, staff, and faculty completed more than 13,000 hours of community service last year. Our goal is to top that number this year . . . Our service efforts extend beyond Mansfield—and even Pennsylvania. As Terry Day and his guests will explain, our service efforts reach from coast to coast.”

Terry Day speaks with Frank Crofchick, Interim Dean of Students, about Mansfield University students who opted out of the traditional spring break beach party, and instead chose to serve. Crofchick explains that there were two groups of students—one group that traveled to the San Francisco area to become involved with at-risk youth and the environment; and another group that went to New York City where they focused on poverty issues and homelessness.

When asked what he gains from his own experiences with the program, Crofchick discusses the students and their passion, “I have been here for the past three and a half years and the passion that the students have for giving back to the community and wanting to give all they possibly can to help people in need, to better themselves, to better everyone they come in contact with . . . that is their passion; that’s what they want to do, and seeing that excitement, that fire that they have to want to better this world . . . it’s amazing; it’s an awesome feeling.”

When asked how he views the importance of those experiences as part of a student’s college education, Crofchick describes how community service hones in on their skills and makes them better individuals, which carries forward to life beyond college and into the workforce. But the Mansfield University Community Service Club does much more than serve during spring break. Throughout the year, the club meets each Thursday planning outreach throughout Tioga County and beyond. Among many opportunities for involvement, members volunteer at the Animal Care Sanctuary and Habitat for Humanity; and they have participated in Corning, NY, helping the elderly and disabled; and through Operation Snowflake, students shovel snow for area residents who need assistance. Similarly Seal Team Sticks assists with fall leaf and stick removal. “They really appreciate it, and seeing their smiling faces when you help them out and seeing our students really give all they can to give back is amazing, it’s awesome.”

Terry Day then speaks with students who had the opportunity to participate in service during spring break.

Joey Jordan describes the experience in San Francisco as “eye-opening.” He recalls the responses of the at-risk children they worked with, “To see the light in their eyes when we showed up every day—It was very fulfilling.” When asked how others view his alternative spring break he comments, “I don’t think that you need a reason to do community service. I think everyone should get out there and give back . . . even if it’s just an hour a month. Give back to your fellow man.”

Bri Dion, too, went to San Francisco. “It was a lot of fun and we did so many different things. We were at the Boys and Girls Club, we went to the Alameda County Food Bank one day, and we were also at the Oakland Zoo . . . It was a lot of fun just getting to do so many different service activities, and it was a great experience.”

Cooper Barshinger traveled with a separate group to New York City. His group, too, assisted with a food bank and also with the Boys and Girls Club in New York City. “It’s amazing to see what a little bit of love and care for a person can do.”

Mansfield University’s biggest one-day community service effort, The Big Event, is coming up on April 22, 2017. For more information, visit the News page at mansfield.edu

The Mansfield University Creed

Character as the essential,
Scholarship as the means,
Culture as the enrichment, and
Service as the end of all worthy endeavors.

Credits:

Videography: Andrew Moore, Kline Kaufer
Video Editing: Andrew Moore
Writing: Heather Weiner

Produced by Vogt Media
Home Page Sponsors: Mansfield University

 
 
 
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