Gettysburg College's time to 'GIV'

A group of Gettysburg College students sat sullenly around a cafeteria table early Friday morning. They were completely quiet. All out of ideas, they didn't have much to talk about.

"Our bills are more than our income," freshman Emma Rule said. "We have no money, so we aren't allowed to go anywhere or do anything."

Bills and income are not typically the concerns of students during their first week of college, but then again, these were not typical students. At "Gettysburg Is Volunteering Day," the members of the class of 2016 were told to be adults in an impoverished family, learning the ins and outs of budgeting and social services.

In this poverty simulation Rule belonged to a family of five.

Gettysburg College freshman Rebecca Johnson, middle, learns about budget management while buying food at an imaginary grocery store run by juniors Alexandra Petkova, left, and Kelly Hagerty. Students were participating in a poverty simulation on Friday morning as part of the Gettysburg College GIV Day. (THE EVENING SUN SHANE DUNLAP)

The father was a college-educated computer programmer who had lost his job. The mother worked full-time as a secretary at a local hospital and there were three children still in school. In just a few months, the family found themselves in a very troubling financial situation as the dad's unemployment checks ran out. It was exactly the kind of situation the college's Center for Public Service wanted the students to be in.

"We are helping you begin to understand social justice issues," college president Janet Morgan Riggs said to students. "We want you to think critically and act compassionately."

Students were given a fixed income and a set number of bills to pay and told to feed their families. Over the course of the simulation, a

series of life events were thrown at them - injuries, household repairs, increased daycare needs.

"It's very overwhelming," Meredith Tombs said as she applied for food stamps at the fake social-services agency. "The money we had really wasn't enough. I have always taken it for granted that food would always be there."

In welcoming the students to Adams County, Gettysburg College wanted to make them aware of just how much they take for granted. After the simulation, students were taken to community organizations throughout the borough and educated on the struggles facing residents.

At the South Central Community Action Programs food shelter, Micheline Sweeney identified one of those struggles.

"Food insecurity is a big problem here," Sweeney, of SCCAP's emergency service supportive staff said. "Because of the economy the number of families who come here keeps increasing."

Throughout Adams County, food pantries serve 2,535 people every month and the pantries rely almost entirely on volunteers to organize food shipments and pack boxes. On Friday Gettysburg College students lent a hand, filling bags of food to go out to local residents.

"Families are really appreciative of what you guys do," Juan Canel, an

Gettysburg College freshman Joshua Rubinstein organizes food at the SCCAP food pantry in Gettysburg on Friday morning. Incoming freshmen were participating in Gettysburg College s GIV Day, which familiarized new students with volunteer opportunities in the community. (THE EVENING SUN SHANE DUNLAP)

upperclassman and regular community volunteer said.

Canel hopes that the program will encourage students to continue to volunteer throughout the school year.

So far, it already seems to be on that track. Now in its 22nd year, GIV Day has become so popular that some freshmen were turned away due over-occupancy.

"It's really important that we are a pillar of the community here at Gettysburg College," president Riggs said. "We want to make sure our students are offering assistance to those in the local community."

GIV Day also encouraged students to learn from the town surrounding them, to gain new perspectives and to break down stereotypes.

"There is always this thought that people who have a college education are always well off," Sara Mater, a student participant said. "But that is not always the case. You don't know what the situation is."

In harder economic times, those stereotypes about food stamps and homelessness continue to break down.

"A lot of times we get families in here who have never needed help before," Sweeney, of the food pantry said. "And for the most part we bend over backward to help them because we know that they really had to swallow their pride in order to come in here."

Student organizer Yauo Liu has certainly come to understand that. After putting a lot of time and energy into making GIV Day a success, she addressed the new student body.

"Ask yourself, why do people live in poverty? Why do immigrants come to this country?" Liu said. "Then take it a step further, ask how we can challenge the status quo. How can we encourage social change?"

Source: http://www.eveningsun.com/news/ci_21392844/gettysburg-colleges-time-giv?source=rss

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