At Sinclair Community College, there is no end to the amount of opportunities to give back to the community, and this fall Sinclair is giving students the chance to do exactly that. Running from November 18 to November 25, Sinclair students can give away their coats, hats and other various winter wear to Hannah’s Treasure Chest.
Heidi Arnold is a professor at Sinclair, who teaches a Small Group Communication course that incorporates Service Learning in the classroom. Service Learning projects are not always mandatory, but Arnold has always enjoyed helping out around her community and is always looking for ways to let her students participate.
“I called a service learning coordinator and asked, ‘Who needs help?’” Arnold said. “That’s how I got to Hannah’s Treasure Chest.”
Founded by Angela Addington in 2001, Hannah’s Treasure Chest is a local charitable organization that focuses on getting clothes for the winter. Once Addington realized how many teenagers and young adults were in need, she opened a warehouse in Centerville, OH.
Donations are from a variety of stores, such as Plato’s Closet, as well as other locals who wish to contribute. They now aid 7,000 children a year in Butler, Greene, Montgomery, and Warren Counties.
Sinclair students met with the Director of Hannah’s Treasure Chest, Leslie Marsh, to learn more about the project and what they could do to help.
A large group broke themselves into teams to collect coats, boots, hats and mittens, which will then be sent to Hannah’s Treasure Chest the week before Thanksgiving. Various teams work on marketing and advertising to get the word out to Sinclair students, and a few of Arnold’s students created a survey on campus to collect data based on Sinclair’s student’s knowledge about poverty and the needs in the community. Arnold is currently overseeing the project, but likes to let the students take control of the project.
“Not everyone who teaches Small Group Communication does service learning. There are a lot of professors across campus who do it, and you can even ask your professor, ‘Hey, could I do service learning during this class?’ And most of them would say, ‘yes,’” Arnold said. “Usually that means you wouldn’t be the only one, because somebody will ask, ‘Well, what’s she doing?’ And then somebody else would jump in.”
Arnold said it provides a hands-on learning experience, as well as creating a better understanding of the concept her students are learning in class.
“It really makes learning the stuff out of the book so much easier because you learn about cohesion. After a while you’re really working like engine, and that is cohesion. Because then they understand the concept,” Arnold said.
Ariel Parker
Reporter