Volunteer stop paints pumpkins
Mallary Forbes, a freshman music major, walked back to her dorm exhausted from a full day of classes. Instead of plopping down on her bed to recuperate, Forbes found herself downstairs in her dorm’s community room painting Harry Potter on a pumpkin that will be delivered to decorate the rooms of a local nursing home.
Mallary Forbes, a freshman music major, walked back to her dorm exhausted from a full day of classes. Instead of plopping down on her bed to recuperate, Forbes found herself downstairs in her dorm’s community room painting Harry Potter on a pumpkin that will be delivered to decorate the rooms of a local nursing home.
“It’s a fun break from classes,” Forbes said, putting her finishing touches on the walls of Hogwarts, the school of magic the fictional Harry Potter attends.
Volunteer Services, a division of University Student Commons and Activities, uses student activity fees to provide volunteer opportunities to students. The programs are called volunteer stops, and they occur two to three times a semester.
Two resident assistants at Brandt Hall organized this stop and held in the community room downstairs at the dorm. It was the first stop of the year.
Freshmen hauled heavy books, sweatshirts and grocery bags through the hallway, trying to make it to the elevator that would deliver them to their rooms. That’s when they saw it: a sign that read “Volunteer stop.”
Students stopped, peeked into the room and saw the room overflowing with paints and pumpkins. It took around 10 minutes for Mr. Paintbrush to meet Mr. Pumpkin then the student was out of the door with a smiling face.
Beth Ward, a volunteer services coordinator at VCU, said her job is to plan programs for students who are just way too busy, she said.
“We try to design projects that can be completed in 10 minutes or less,” she said.
Morgan McDowell, junior biology major and resident assistant at Brandt Hall, planned the program with the help of Jihaad Davenport, a junior mechanical engineering major and resident assistant at Brandt Hall.
McDowell, Davenport and Ward pulled together fliers, 66 untouched pumpkins and busy students for a larger cause.
“It’s fun, easy and for a good cause,” McDowell said. “It helps educate students about the importance of volunteering.
“It shows that college students care about the community.”
