Westminster College, elementary students team up to serve

Westminster College, elementary students team up to serve

(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Westminster College opened its campus to children from South Salt Lake schools Friday to participate in acts of service.

The groups of students and staff supervised children who prepared hygiene kits for homeless individuals and families. Children also spent time working with the American Red Cross to write letters to service members stationed abroad.

The event capped off a week of service events and celebrations in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

"Part of it is the theme of Martin Luther King Jr. in celebrating service and equity, diversity," said Julie Tille, the event organizer with Westminster's Center for Civic Engagement.

The nearly 180 students from several elementary schools in the South Salt Lake area participated in the service event as part of the Promise South Salt Lake after-school program.

"We're creating the college-going culture," Tille said. "We want them to see what that looks like."

Promise South Salt Lake started with Mayor Cherie Wood's public pledges, which included the commitment to provide opportunities for children to attend college and grow up in safe and prosperous community. The engagement with the schools has been one facet of Promise South Salt Lake's mission.

Evelette Hernandez and other children from Promise South Salt Lake make hygiene kits for the homeless as Westminster College hosts a Day of Service on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. (Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
Evelette Hernandez and other children from Promise South Salt Lake make hygiene kits for the homeless as Westminster College hosts a Day of Service on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. (Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

"We also have pathways for South Salt Lake kids to come to college here," said Bonnie Owens, the youth development coordinator with Promise South Salt Lake.

The program holds special significance as it helps serve the community's refugee resettlement population.

Owens said the transition could be jarring for children as they enter new schools and learn a new language, but she says that the after-school program helps with the transition.

"It’s a great experience for kids to come to college and learn," said Elias Cisneros, an elementary school student who helped make cards with the American Red Cross. "Mine said, 'Thank you for serving our country, hope you're OK. P.S. love you.'"

Seventy students, faculty and staff members from Westminster College organized the schoolchildren into working groups to take on the many service efforts. At one set of tables the children formed an assembly line to create dozens of hygiene kits for homeless families and individuals.

Children from Promise South Salt Lake create hygiene kits for the homeless as Westminster College hosts a Day of Service on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. (Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
Children from Promise South Salt Lake create hygiene kits for the homeless as Westminster College hosts a Day of Service on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. (Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

"We were putting stuff in a bag and making a first-aid kit," said Kiley Griggs, a student who participated in putting together hygiene kits for displaced families.

Kiley said the event made her feel more kind.

"We’ve deepened the partnership so that we’re hitting a lot of different areas," Owens said.

The partnership between Promise South Salt Lake and Westminster College has entered its fifth year and both groups hope to continue the relationship.

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