After weeks of writing letters to local and state politicians, Amber Johnson reached her goal Monday night.
A trio of students from MSU’s service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega, received a proclamation from Lansing Mayor David Hollister declaring this week as Alpha Phi Omega National Service Week in Lansing.
“It’s great when a high-ranking politician cares about things on a more intimate level,” said Johnson, an environmental biology senior and vice president of service for the fraternity.
The MSU chapter is part of a national service fraternity that created National Service Week, which runs from Nov. 4 to Sunday. Though the fraternity has celebrated the week for 24 years, this will be the first official National Service Week for the MSU chapter.
Hollister and Gov. John Engler formally recognized the chapter’s efforts through official proclamations and public announcements. East Lansing City Council also will vote Wednesday to declare the chapter’s National Service Week.
Hollister said the Lansing proclamation is important because the public often focuses on the negative actions of youth and ignores the “good stuff.”
“It’s important that we have a balanced view of the contribution these people make,” he said.
The week’s events began Sunday evening with a relaunch of the MSU StateWalk, a program where volunteers escort students to their on-campus residences from 7 p.m. until midnight.
Several service events are planned for the week. “National Service Week is a way to get people involved and doing community service,” Johnson said.
The organization sponsored the first Red Cross Blood Drive of the ninth annual two-week MSU-Penn State Blood Challenge as Monday’s activity.
Today, the group will work to encourage student voting as their service project, and they will meet from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday to volunteer with the MSU Student Food Bank.
The group help run a food drive from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday at Goodrich’s Shop-Rite, 940 Trowbridge Road. The proceeds from the drive will go to the Red Cross Food Distribution Center, 2116 Mint Road in Lansing. Volunteers will help the center distribute the food donations from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday.
To end the week, the group will help the American Lung Association of Michigan with its Cold Turkey Trot at 11 a.m. Sunday.
