Committed to Kindness

Andrews University Holds Third Annual Change Day

Andrews University faculty, staff and students gathered on the flag mall at the start of Change Day. (Photo by David Sherwin)

On Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, Andrews University held its third annual Change Day. Andrews University faculty, staff and students worked at 63 sites around the community and in Berrien County.

Andrews classes were canceled and many offices were closed until 3 p.m. to give the campus community an opportunity to join in service. Participants gathered at 8:15 a.m. on the Andrews flag mall to eat breakfast, join with their groups, and pick up sack lunches before traveling out to their various project sites.

“There are so many non-profits and organizations that exist to help meet the needs of the people of Berrien County, and it was a privilege to get to work alongside these organizations on Change Day. We were excited to help meet their needs and to help keep our community the beautiful place it is in Southwest Michigan,” says Teela Ruehle, Change Day coordinator and director of service & missions with Campus Ministries.

Change Day project sites and activities included inventorying books, organizing uniforms and helping in the school library at Benton Harbor Charter School; putting up walls for a home under construction in Benton Harbor with Habitat for Humanity; and honoring the past by washing and helping to preserve tombstones at the Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles.

Taylor Bartram, interim associate chaplain for the Office of Campus Ministries, was one of the people who went to the Silverbrook Cemetery. “This may seem like a menial task, but it made a huge impact on the cemetery. They have only one person who works there and manages the entire site. The cemetery manager was very appreciative of our time spent there and would love to have us back,” he says.

Other participants completed various tasks such as picking up trash on an Adopt-a-Highway stretch and setting up for the grand opening for the new expansion at Neighbor 2 Neighbor. The Andrews University Gymnics team worked through Salvation Army to help tear down from a youth rally and landscape their site in Benton Harbor.

Ben Regoso, tech support manager for Client Services in the Office of Information Technology Services, served at Harbor Country Mission in Bridgman. This group helped to set up a used clothing section, sort through donations and paint. “This entire experience showed me the power of comradery and the overwhelming impact of what a group can do when we all have a unified goal. I hope this inspires others to take time to connect with others in the community no matter our belief systems,” he says. 

Tatiana Correa, a student at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, served at Mars Elementary School in Berrien Springs. Her group painted pots for the kindergarten playground, set up a trail of painted rocks by the 2nd grade area, put together a sensory path inside the school and assisted some of the teachers by reading to the students and helping with artwork. Correa especially enjoyed her time at Mars because it is also where her daughter attends school.

“Seeing her smile and hearing her friends ask me to come back with my friends to the school really touched my heart,” says Correa. “Each one of us had a smile on our faces. We felt we made a difference in the school for the students and their time being there.”

The inspiration behind Change Day comes from Andrews University’s mission to “Seek Knowledge. Affirm Faith. Change the World.” On Sept. 14, 2017, Andrews University held their first Change Day. On that day over 1,500 participants worked at 63 sites across Berrien County on projects ranging from painting a mural in a school to cleaning beach areas and parks to offering hundreds of high school students information about career choices. Each Change Day is a way for Andrews University to give back to the local community through service.