MOVE up the volunteerism
Students demonstrate desire to volunteer through various programs

Joan Nyamunda | staff writer
jnyamunda@smcvt.edu

Behind the open doors of the Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts (MOVE) office, a variety of people sit waiting, willing to educate students about a program that has been at St. Michael’s College for 19 years. 

MOVE is a program that gets students involved to volunteer locally, nationally, and around the world.  MOVE offers 22 different volunteer programs.

This year, the MOVE program is planning to have 11 domestic trips and two international trips to the Dominican Republic and India. One trip in Utah, to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary allows students to work with animals that have been rescued from Hurricane Katrina.

Students gather in the MOVE office. Alex McIntire, photo

Going international

MOVE takes students on extended service multi-day trips all over the United States and to other parts of the world.  These trips have been successful in providing help to those in need while at the same time providing a rewarding experience for the students, says Jason Moore, MOVE assistant director. 

Sophomore Faith Savill volunteered on an extended service trip in Hartford, Conn.

“In the trip we served homeless people, visited an overnight homeless shelter and an elementary school, helping students with their homework,” says sophomore Faith Savill.  “The trip allows an individual to build connections with people and some of the homeless individuals that we encountered still keep in touch with us.”

Savill says she believes that volunteering is a fulfilling experience that makes a person more confident in what they do. The extended service trips teach the importance of being a global citizen and dedication to worldwide service.

Students gain “perspectives, awareness, a sense of contribution and community building” from the trips that they get involved in, says Heidi St. Peter, the director of the MOVE program.

The trip to Kolkata, India was a life-changing experience for both students and program directors, according to Moore. It was a three-week trip, working with three organizations such as Missionaries of Charities, an organization founded by Mother Teresa, as well as New Life/New Hope and the Sabera Organization.

New Life/New Hope is a school that shelters 200 orphans who were rescued in the red light district of Kolkata.  The organization run by Brother Xavier, provides the children with shelter, medical needs, and eventually jobs and apartments.  MOVE also worked with the Sabera Organization, a school for girls from the red light district in Kolkata.

Moore says the trips take a lot of intense preparation, but in the end the students gain a lot of perspectives about the world and they become inspired to do more in the community. It is humbling to come back to the United States after seeing that level of poverty, and what is on TV and in articles doesn’t compare to seeing it first hand, he adds.

Including the students

The student body involved with MOVE coordinates mass days of service that often draw hundreds of volunteers to work with service groups around the community.

“Volunteering is something you do, not for the money, but for self-satisfaction that you helped someone else,” says sophomore James Thurber, a work study student at the MOVE office.

Being part of the MOVE program provides students with an opportunity to do fun, exciting things in a positive atmosphere, he says.

Senior Katie Herbert participates in the COTS walk. Alex McIntire, photo

Moore and St. Peter say they hope that more students will become involved with the program, and welcome any willing participants.

“It helps students find a new vocation,” St. Peter says, “Because sometimes students are not sure of what they want to do in the future.”

The program believes that actions speak louder than words, and everyday they try to live their lives by the same principle, St. Peter says.

“Service brings home the idea that we are connected with everybody,” St. Peter says. “The sense of service empowers everyone to become engaged in their community by learning that they can impact the world in positive ways.” 

The program helps students look at bigger issues by experiencing, learning and understanding cultural and social problems, Moore says. Through MOVE, students have the opportunity to interact with other students and become more knowledgeable about such issues.