Service Reflections

Fall 2022

On Friday, August 19th, the service co-coordinators helped organize our annual SOUL Day of Service. SOUL stands for Student Outreach Uniting Louisville and it is an event held during Welcome Week for students to get more closely involved with campus and the Louisville community. Students in the past have helped non-profit organizations paint, clean, landscape, and organize all while learning about how the organization helps people within the community every day. This year we had fifteen participating organizations including the Ronald McDonald House, Louisville Nature Center, CASA, the Hope Buss, Critically Loved, SOS International, Catholic Charities of Louisville, Garden Commons, Love the Hungry, the Fairness Campaign, One West, Olmsted Parks Conservancy, the Uofl Composting Project, and the Cardinal Cupboard. We were very thankful to have some amazing speakers come in like Interim President Dr. Lori Gonzalez, SGA Executive Vice President Katie Hayden, and ELSB Executive Director Moyo Olayemi. We also provided breakfast in the morning for participating students and transportation to and back from the service sites with the help of the student involvement office, Uofl Administration, and the counseling center. Additionally, we were glad that great organizations like RaiseRED and the Commonwealth Credit Union could come and table at our event! 
    During fall break from October 3rd-4th, we had our first Alternative Service Break within our city of Louisville where we got to explore housing and the built environment in Louisville’s urban core. We partnered with organizations like the Hope Buss, Louisville Urban Design, Housing Partnership INC, and Hand in Hand. Our group of six participants were able to spend two days of service in Louisville, exploring local businesses, understanding Louisville history, and learning about the ways that they can make a difference within this field. 
    We are incredibly excited for our events coming up in the spring semester! First, we have another Alternative Service Break trip during winter break to Hazard Kentucky where we will be taking a group of twelve students to aid in flood damage relief and explore Eastern Kentucky! At the beginning of spring semester, we will be hosting our annual MLK Day of Service on January 16th where we are partnering with twelve different organizations for a day of service while honoring an important man in history. Finally, we will be hosting an Alternative Service Break trip to New Orleans during spring break. Be sure to look on Engage or @uoflelsb on Instagram for further details about our service events and Alternative Service Breaks!