One of the core values of ASU Mid-South is Community and Civic Responsibility. With that in mind, Michael Lejman, Jackie Leech, Michelle McMillen and I are asking for volunteers (faculty, staff, and students) to participate in a campus-wide community service project, scheduled for Monday, March 21st* (the Monday of the week of Spring Break)*. This project will be a great team-building exercise. It will allow us to get to know each other outside the bounds of our regular roles on campus, while also providing us with greater visibility within our community.
For this project, we will be repairing and refurbishing a portion of the grounds at Weaver elementary school here in West Memphis. The work includes cleaning, painting, and landscaping. The main portion of the project will involve a gazebo on the school grounds which was built as a memorial to the three children, second graders at the school, murdered in 1993 in the case that gained national attention for the trial of the West Memphis Three. Due to a lack of designated funds for maintenance, this memorial is in dire need of refurbishing, as you can tell from the attached photos. The school grounds in general would benefit from any help we can give, as the school’s enrollment has risen dramatically over the past few years and maintenance has not kept pace. There will be plenty to do, regardless of how much you can stoop, bend, or carry.
With your help, this should be fun and fulfilling way to support our community. All employees working on campus that week are invited to participate as part of their normal workday. Please coordinate with your supervisors to ensure offices remain covered, as needed. For 10 month faculty who are off for the break, we won’t expect you, but your participation would certainly be welcomed and greatly appreciated.
We ask that everyone bring your own gloves, tools, and work clothes. We are working with our maintenance department to gather the bigger equipment such as a pressure washer and wheel barrows, but volunteers are encouraged to bring any shovels, rakes, trimmers, cleaning supplies and other useful items they have available.
Transportation between campus and the school will be provided, departing at 8:30am. Note: If weather causes us to postpone the project we will convene at the same time on Tuesday the 22nd. All volunteers who sign up by Monday, March 14th will receive an ASU Mid-South t-shirt. There is also a rumor that lunch may be provided.
We hope this will be a fun and rewarding way to give back to our community, and we hope you will join us! To sign up, or for answers to any questions you may have, please email Michael Lejman.
