Judson accomplished the 12th Marion Matters on September 8, 2017, during the second week of the fall semester. All new students, along with some returning students, staff and faculty participated in the event by volunteering at fifteen places in the community. It was a massive success as it achieved the event goal of introducing new students to ways they can plug in and serve the community.
After three and a half hours of volunteering, all 15 groups met up at “The J” in order to regroup and recap their experiences. At the meeting, one student from each group shared what they had learned from their field of service. After each group was spoken for, Dr. David Potts brought the day to a close by sharing with those in attendance the bread for spiritual growth with scripture from Mathew 25:21-30.
This year Marion Matters was conducted similar previous years. All the volunteers, whether new students, returning students, staff or faculty, got involved in high spirits to serve the community. There were fifteen groups, and each one went to their assigned place. For example, a litter cleanup team went to various locations to pick up trash. Other groups went to the Perry County library to read with kids, to the Perry County nursing home (both inside to sing with the residents, and outside to visit with the horses), to the Marion Cemetery to clean up, to Sowing Seeds of Hope to set up offices, to stain a porch at a home on Utah Street and to the Marion Walking Trail. All the groups offered their helping hands to where they were assigned.
Marion Matters service is also a stepping stone to the various service opportunities where students can participate after the event. As the director of Faith-Based Service and Learning, Amy F. Butler thinks, “By students being able to volunteer in the community, they are building relationships with the people they are serving, and so maybe someone would ask about their faith, God, and Jesus, and they could share those to them.” Butler also explained that this service could affect to the students’ faith as well. Recently, as a result of Marion Matters, some students according to Ms. Andrea Abernathy, librarian at Judson’s Bowling Library are joining the Reading Mentorship program at Francis Marion School every Thursday. Butler concluded her thoughts with this: “Students will want to be involved in services in the community and grow to love Marion as a city, and I hope that as they serve the community, they find new talents that they will use in their future.”
