Campbell introducing common service initiative for 1st-year students

For updates throughout the summer on this common service project, follow Love Thy Neighbor on Twitter and on Facebook.

BUIES CREEK — When incoming students at Campbell University arrive to Buies Creek this summer for Orientation, they’ll be bringing with them items such as school supplies and non-perishable food to donate for a new common service initiative, Love Thy Neighbor, that Campbell is introducing this fall.

On Sunday, Aug. 18, as part of the inaugural Love Thy Neighbor service project, first-year students will converge on the Academic Circle from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to prepare and pack food bags for Buddy Backpacks for Harnett County, school supply bags for local children, and hygiene bags for homeless individuals in the area.

In the lead up to Aug. 18, incoming students and families who attend one of the university’s two Orientations this summer are being asked to bring with them three to five items to donate for the service project. Donations being collected range from wide-ruled paper and highlighters, to fruit cups and juice boxes, to travel-size deodorant and toothpaste. (See “Items needed for Love Thy Neighbor” below for a full list of items being accepted.)

Sponsored by the offices of Campus Ministry and First-Year Experience, Love Thy Neighbor will join other university traditions such as Welcome Week and the New Student Convocation and Medallion Ceremony to help new students build connections with each other and with the university’s mission to serve others. Love Thy Neighbor, in other words, will be another opportunity for students “to get to know their new home,” said Jennifer Latino, director of the First-Year Experience.

“One of the most important steps in making Campbell feel like home is the opportunity to connect with peers and make new friends. When you couple that with the spirit of the Campbell University mission to serve others, Love Thy Neighbor makes a lot of sense,” Latino said. “We hope that students will find this project to be a perfect blend of an opportunity to know their fellow peers and make an impact on the local community.”

Collection bins will be placed around campus where incoming students can deposit their donations during the two Orientations (June 28-29 and July 12-13). Current students, faculty, and staff are also encouraged to donate items, which can be deposited in the bins or dropped off at the First-Year Experience office in the Student Services Building by Aug. 1.

“The mission of serving others has long been woven in to the fabric of Campbell University, and Love Thy Neighbor is another excellent opportunity for new students to live this out together,” said Faithe Beam, Campbell’s campus minister. “New students already participate in service together at Accepted Student Day and Orientation, and this project further demonstrates the importance of engaging in meaningful service while they make the Campbell community home for a season.

“On another level,” Beam said, “Love Thy Neighbor helps students identify new neighbors on campus as they connect with each other and their professors on a more personal level.”

Latino added that the service project will give incoming students the opportunity to interact with faculty and staff in an informal setting before classes start on Aug. 21.

“Building relationships with faculty is one of the most meaningful parts of the Campbell experience. But for new students, this can be intimidating,” she said. “When you provide spaces where students and faculty can interact outside of the classroom by packing bags for school children, for example, it takes away some of that anxiety and helps new students see how open and approaching our faculty are.”

Items needed for Love Thy Neighbor

Campbell University will hold its inaugural Love Thy Neighbor common service project on Aug. 18, 2013, when first-year students will pack bags for a school supply drive for local children, a personal-hygiene drive for homeless individuals, and a food drive for Buddy Backpacks for Harnett County. Below is a list of the items being collected for Love Thy Neighbor:

School supply drive for children

All school supplies are welcome. Examples:

Wide-ruled paper

Pencils

Erasers

Crayons

Glue sticks

Hand sanitizer

Spiral notebooks

Blue or black pens

Highlighters

Gallon-size storage bags

Personal-hygiene items for homeless individuals

Travel-size deodorant

Travel-size hand sanitizer

Travel packs of tissues

Disposable razors

Tampons and sanitary pads

ChapStick

Toothbrushes

Toothbrush covers

Toothpaste

Travel-size shampoo

Travel-size foot powder

Travel-size wet wipes

Hair ties

Small hair brush or comb

Travel-size bars of soap

Travel-size soap containers

Food for Buddy Backpacks for Harnett County

Beanie weenies

Easy Mac

Granola bars

Applesauce

Fruit cups

Raisin boxes

Nab crackers

Instant grits and oatmeal

Juice boxes

Chef Boyardee

Vienna sausage

Individual-serving cereal boxes

Pudding cups

Gallon-size storage bags