Nearly 400 incoming freshmen and transfer students spent Monday morning volunteering at 11 local nonprofits and churches.
In just a few hours, the students accomplish a lot and made a big impact, according to representatives of several organizations that benefited from the community service.
Serve Siloam is an annual tradition that became part of student orientation for the university in 1995, according to a press release. New students moved into dorms on Friday and returning students moved in on Monday, the university website states. Classes for traditional undergraduate students are set to begin on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
Serve Siloam introduces students to both JBU's culture of service and the community where they will be living, the release states.
At the Siloam Springs Museum, 10 students spent the morning weeding and mulching the historic garden, which features traditional plants for the area, according to Don Warden, museum director. They also did cleaning inside the museum, where they got to learn about local history, such as the Sager Creek Cabin, which stands on the JBU campus, he said.
The students were able to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time, Warden said.
Trinity McMahan of Greenforest, who was working in the museum garden, said she has been working to attend JBU ever since she visited the college on a choir trip in seventh grade. McMahan said she loves friendly the community is.
McMahan is majoring in history so volunteering at the museum and learning about local history is a perfect fit, she said.
Natalie Maruschak of Kansas City, who was working alongside McMahan, said she toured a lot of Christian colleges looking for one that felt like home. When she saw a video of JBU, she knew it was for her, she said.
Maruschak said Serve Siloam has been good way for her to get in the community and get to know people.
"It really does feel like a very tight-knit community," she said.
At Genesis House, a day-shelter for the homeless, 18 JBU students dug post holes for posts to keep visitors from backing into a new air conditioning unit, picked up rocks from the parking lot and filled potholes, and straightened rooms, according to Mike Velo, administrative coordinator for the nonprofit.
Genesis House has been trying to get to the chores for several months but the students did a great job of getting them done before mid-morning and were already looking for more ways to help, Velo said.
"This is a really wonderful things JBU does for us and we really appreciate all the effort," he said.
Twenty JBU students painted an outdoor wall and covered patio space and cut metal pieces that were sticking out of the wall for The Brick Ballroom as part of a project for Main Street Siloam Springs. Heather Lanker, owner of The Brick Ballroom, said she broke her spine trying to install the floor of the building so she is not allowed to do a lot of physical labor anymore.
"It's huge that a large group can come in and crank it out, it makes the process go so much quicker," she said. "And they're so happy doing it."
General News on 08/28/2019