BRITTANY YEAROUT
News Assistant
After grueling classes, spring break serves as a “get away,” a time of relaxation and rejuvenation. However, Project Serve offers an alternative for those who want to invest their spring break in serving others.
As part of fundraising for the mission trips, Project Serve is hosting a 5k run/walk race. The race will take place Saturday at 10 a.m. at Stotsenberg Track.
Project Serve is expecting about 50 people to run in the race. Junior Joanna Mason, who is a team leader and one of the coordinators for the race, said she believes the race will be more successful in the future.
“This year we are not expecting the Project Serve run/walk race to be hugely successful, but hopefully in the years to come it can become a bigger and better event where people in the Malibu community can actually become involved in this aspect of Pepperdine life,” said Mason.
The race costs $15 to register and the money can be requested to go toward a specific Project Serve team.“Project Serve allows students to implement Pepperdine’s mission statement, which is developing a student’s life for purpose, service and leadership,” said senior Karah Lockman, who is one of the two coordinators of Project Serve.
In response to 9/11, Project Serve started four years ago and has expanded to places throughout the country as well as internationally. This year there are 184 members, and 18 of them are team leaders. The members are split into 13 teams and will visit 12 different sites.
The teams are now in the process of fundraising. Fund-raisers include bake sales, car washes and writing letters to relatives or friends asking for their support and donations.
Project Serve encourages members to fundraise to give other people an opportunity to be involved in the process, even though they are not going.
“We really encourage people to fundraise their money because there are some people who have no problem paying it themselves and then there are others who really do need and rely on fundraising,” Lockman said. “The Project Serve is a great thing because you are really giving up a time that most people take for themselves and they are going to use it to serve people.”
According to sophomore Nick Gallion, helping others through activities such as Project Serve is a part of Pepperdine’s mission.
“The first thing you see when you come here and go into the cafeteria is Mathew 10:8,” Gallion said. “As people in general, we have a call to help people in need … you don’t have to be a Christian to serve.”
All students interested are more than welcome to participate in any trip as long as they feel comfortable, according to Lockman.
“There are some that are strictly just service, either hands on working with children or building houses, and then there are some ministries,” Lockman said. “It is very open and we try to state it as clear as possible, on our application, the different teams that will be dealing with ministry.”
Besides serving others, Project Serve is a good opportunity to meet other students.
“We have had meetings where we try and encourage friendships within our groups so that when we get over to the Dominican Republic there won’t be any kind of dissension,” Mason said. “People will then get along with one another and therefore do the work that we need to do. We also have meetings to discuss the logistical side of going overseas.”
Among many other sites, students will be traveling away from Pepperdine for six to eight days of service in places like Argentina, Panama, Romania, New York and Detroit.
01-26-2006