Adam’s sentence was six hours of community service for violating university policy. He showed up with his mind made up: six hours – no more, no less. He did not want to be involved.
But his attitude changed.
He enjoyed the experience so much that he organized a program last year to make Valentine’s Day goodie bags for the students at McKinley School in Bridgeport.
“People enjoy their experience, so they continue with it,” said Melissa Reardon, director of community service.
Fairfield University’s campus ministry has long been involved with community service. Four years ago a program run by student leaders for service opportunities was founded.
These student leaders are called STAGS, Students Together All Gathered for Service. Each student leader is in charge of a different group of volunteers for different service programs.
Fairfield’s biggest group is the Best Buddies Program, which is lead by Mary Beth Vingelen, ’06. This program pairs one Fairfield student and one person with intellectual disabilities.
“Best Buddies involves people who’ve been neglected from society and incorporates them into our everyday lives,” said Vingelen. “By doing that, [it] heals the whole person.”
The college students are told to try to talk to their buddies once a week on the phone, and to hang out a couple of times outside of regular Best Buddies events.
“I love it because it gives you a chance to meet with people,” said Megan Moses ’06 a college buddy. “[They] are so grateful for everything we do. It’s just a couple hours for us, but to them it means so much.”
Another student said it was important just to be someone’s friend.
“They deserve to have a friend as much as anyone else does, in most cases they don’t,” said Michael Gentile ’06.
Vingelen and her buddy Margaret Rebetta talk on the phone almost everyday. “I look forward to talking to her, someone who’s so interested in what I’m doing,” said Vingelen.
Rebetta, 54, lives by herself in Bridgeport. “I really like it a lot. It’s really affected my life by meeting new friends, especially a pretty young girl like Mary Beth,” she said.
The program “puts you in perspective. You think you’re having a bad week with finals or whatever, but it doesn’t compare,” said Moses. “If they’re able to see the good in everything, then why can’t we?”
Just like Adam and his change of heart, “Anyone can be surprised at how good helping others feels,” said Vingelen.
Reardon said that because service is such an important part of the Jesuit tradition, it should also be a part of our culture here at Fairfield University.
She said that it’s important to expose yourself to new things and to become engaged in the community.
Vingelen expressed a similar opinion.
“I think that people are not fully aware, or just choose to ignore, many real things that are happening in our world … and hopefully [service activity] challenges them to go on and learn more about things in our world that people disregard,” she said.
There are other opportunities to help the community here at university.
Melissa Reardon STAGS has really grown as a group of leaders in the past few years.
Each of the leaders from the group STAGS runs a different community service program. The programs range from after-school programs, in-school mentoring programs, child care programs, soup kitchens, programs for the elderly and more.
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