At California State University, Stanislaus, a Business Ethics and Social Responsibility class aims to teach students about true social responsibility.
Senior Stephanie Hopper, along with her classmates, were required to volunteer at least 15 hours during the semester with a local nonprofit organization. The location of choice? The United Samaritans Foundation in Downtown Turlock. Hopper and her colleagues went every other week to help prepare, sort, box or serve food to the homeless and low-income residents.
“When you walk in and actually see all the people who need the services, you feel relieved for them that they have a place to go,” said Hopper. “You have to be sympathetic, because that could be any of us, which is why I volunteer.”
A club on campus, the Hunger Network, also makes huge strides in supporting the community. Most notably, the club helps to feed the hungry by donating food from their campus garden. They also collect canned goods and prepare meals at local shelters. In November, they helped prepare breakfast and sack lunches with the We Care Program in Downtown Turlock.
“I like to cook, so cooking bacon and eggs that the homeless get to eat is really a great thing,” Hunger Network member Susan Vangsaid. “I accomplished something that they love and will help nourish them.”
And there’s still another student club that also aims to assist the community. The Sociology Club has organized a shoebox drive for the last seven years in a row. During the semester, students collect shoe boxes and fill them with gifts for children – gifts like blankets, clothes, and coloring books.
This year alone, the club donated hundreds of shoe boxes to needy children, with the help of the Turlock Family Network, the Children’s Crisis Center of Stanislaus County, and the Women’s Haven Center in Modesto.
“It’s amazing; it’s a really good feeling,” Tanveer Sandhu, Sociology Club vice president said. “Even as college students, we still have the spirit of Christmas to help somebody else. I feel like this gives students an opportunity to volunteer their time to do something positive for someone else.”
