Students looking around campus for a charity to support won’t find much this year.
The Associated Students of the University of Utah, the student organization with the mission statement claiming it “impact(s) students’ lives through meaningful service,” would naturally be the place to go if one wanted to get involved in charitable activities during the holiday season.
Yet ASUU has no plans for charitable holiday activities, and is, instead, throwing an “Eggnogger” party for its legislative and executive branches.
ASUU’s not alone, either. Search all you want, but you won’t find a school-sponsored activity aimed at motivating students to give a little back to the community during the holidays. In fact, the closest thing on campus to a charity event is the “Bend-in-the-River: Winter Solstice” activity put on by the Bennion Community Service Center. “Bend-in-the-River” is a multi-cultural activity aimed at strengthening community relations on the west side of Salt Lake City. At the event, volunteers will play games, perform multi-cultural winter rituals and give out winter attire to some of the most disadvantaged kids. But, while that’s an admirable goal, the event isn’t all that accessible to U students.
While those at the Bennion Center say they need a few more volunteers, they readily admit that 10 people would be more than they need, and they shy away from describing the event as “charity.”
According to the governor’s office, more than 61,000 Utah children live in poverty. That’s twice the U’s student population. Many of those kids won’t have gifts, or even food, for Christmas this year. So one wonders which is more disturbing: the fact that there aren’t many opportunities on campus for students to be charitable, or the fact that no one really seems all that worried about it.
Brady Snyder, Phase 2 program manager at the Rescue Mission of Salt Lake, says that the help from U students is not only accepted, but needed. The Rescue Mission serves the homeless in Salt Lake City with food and needed materials, but as a private entity, it relies on donations to continue serving others. “Students can help us by organizing clothes drives,” Snyder said, “because almost 100 percent of our supplies are donated.”
Snyder went on to say that coats, hats and underwear are the most needed items for this time of year. “We give out a lot of clothes, but we always need winter clothes.” Snyder also said that the mission needs volunteers to help serve dinner during the holiday months.
As inconvenient as it might be, giving a little bit of time and money during the holidays can make a big difference in someone’s life. U students ought to take the time and make sure that they do what they can to make someone’s Christmas a little better, despite the shameful lack of opportunities on campus.
