So how did Change Day go?
I think it went really well. The total signups were 1,022. We're going through everybody that actually came out that day, but it's looking like around 850 actually came out, which is really good. We were actually trying to have an abbreviated year because the community wasn't quite ready to receive us. A lot of the nonprofits aren’t quite open yet to receive volunteers, so we were like, “Okay, let's bring stuff back to campus and do what we can do, and we'll just see who comes out.” On a normal year we have around 1,200, so this was really close to a normal year, and I think it went really well. The gym project was our biggest success. It was huge, with 10,000 packages for prisoners!
What were your goals for how Change Day could affect the community and the school, and then do you think you accomplished that?
We had to be so careful while planning, just because we didn't know if the day before we were going to have to cancel. So really, the goal was to reach out to nonprofits and see. These people have been working harder than normal for the past year and a half with the weight of the community and so many needs falling on the nonprofits. We have the opportunity here to really step in, even if it’s only for a day; we can lighten their load and that makes a difference in our community.
Looking at the smaller details was the goal this year. How could we just make something a little easier or a little lighter? A Christmas package took us two seconds. Literally, it was two seconds per package. But if you're a prisoner in a maximum security prison, and you get this bag of goodies and chocolate that you hadn't had, that changes someone's life. Or the literature you give them introduces them to God. It seems small, but it's huge in the long run, and we don't get to see it, but that's the goal of the day.
We went to a nursing home which we haven't been able to do in two years, and they said it was the highlight of their year. These are super small things to us; we sing all the time. But there, it made an impact. I think we're going to keep hearing good things from the community.
What were your highlights, and what were the greatest challenges besides COVID?
The biggest challenges were definitely the prices going up for everything in extreme fashion. Normally, we bring in about 40 vehicles to transport everybody everywhere. We learned just last month that it was going to be $400 a day for each bus. We can't afford that. There was an immediate challenge of, “How do we transport people and get into the community that we want to serve?” Andrews transportation really stepped up and helped us. We found vehicles from churches, and students helped by saying, “Hey, I'll drive myself,” which is great too. That was one of the big challenges. Yesterday went so well with very few hiccups. There were 37 different projects. The students showed up and went out, and that's huge. We never know if they are going to want to serve, or if they're too busy to serve. So that was awesome.
How did you approach planning Change Day?
Change Day takes around six months to plan. At first, we were still toying with whether or not we’d be allowed to do a full-on event. Personally, I was half-heartedly into it. I wasn’t sure if I was going to plan all of this just to have it cancelled. But honestly, in about June, something changed in me. God was like, “This is a day of service. It's not for you to do halfway. This is it. Go all in.” And after that it was just like, “Okay, God, I'm going to do this. We're gonna open it up. Whoever shows up was meant to come, and whoever doesn't, that's okay too.” I tried to just walk in faith for it, but that was really hard.
What was your team like?
So you're looking at it. No, I'm just kidding. It was pretty much me until August, and then I had Hope Malabrigo (senior, social work). She is my right hand student chaplain. She's been full time, working 40 hours since she came in. She’s just killing it. The last two weeks, the student chaplains were here, and AUSA helped us, which is huge. I know that I can just give a task to AUSA and AUGSA, and I don't have to think about it again.
How did you come to this position, and was this always a goal for you?
I was a dean in Lamson and University Towers, and I kept hearing about Change Day. I always thought, “Wow, our university needs a service day.” And I've always been looped into volunteering. I didn't really plan it, but you know how some people always end up leading a volunteer group? When I heard of Change Day and that they needed a leader for it, I was like, “That sounds like a lot of fun.” So I talked with the provost and said, “Hey, I'm just curious,” and they were like, “Here!” It was an easy transition. I went from the dorm to here. This is my fourth year.
Do you have a favorite story that you heard from today's Change Day, or even from another Change Day?
The biggest thing that I heard was from Change Weekend, which took place last year. Last year we did a food drive right behind the Lutheran Church in Berrien, and we just put a flyer up to the community that said, “Hey, come on out. It's free.” The local two farmers gave us 600 watermelons and tons of corn, and we just gave it to anybody who drove up. The line went out the road and down to Taco Bell on the main street, and people were just piling in. After three hours we were out. The need for food during the pandemic was something that we heard so much feedback about. I delivered food to two different families who didn't have cars after, and there were two kids that opened the door. They turned around, and they yelled back, “Mom! There's food! There's food!” I will never forget that. It makes a difference because normally you don't know they don't have food. We would give them something if we knew, but this is why we need to go outside of Andrews. If we stay here we’re never going to learn the needs of the community.
Is there anything you want to say to the student body?
We are trying to get more clubs to get involved and sponsor Change Day projects. We are so thankful for the AFIA, ASIS, Freedom by Design, BSCF, LSF, and WEAAU clubs who make serving and community engagement an important part of their identity, and of course, AUSA and AUGSA!
The one thing that God has been pressing on me this year is this: We think that we have to do something big to be a world changer. That’s a big tagline here, “I have to be a world changer.” We think we have to make a prosthetic for someone's leg, like super big CEO stuff. But if everyone on this campus would just step up and open the door for someone, or help someone pick up something that drops on the ground, these small and random acts of kindness change the world. If we all started there, not just in our larger communities, the world would change. I think we forget that it doesn't have to be big. It can just start super super small.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.