SGA lends helping hand

Provided photo | Student Government Association members prepare sandwiches for sack lunches that will go to the homeless.

Written by | Jazmin Herrera |

The Student Government Association partakes in many community service activities throughout the year. This month they decided to help the less fortunate.
The students worked together to make 160 sack lunches, then proceeded to personally deliver them to the homeless in different areas of Amarillo. The activity was meant to focus on personal engagement, a goal to directly affect the community.

About 15 to 20 SGA members helped with the making and dispersing of the sack lunches, which took place earlier this month. “I think the best part was when Lauren, one of our club members, prayed with a homeless man that was sick,” said Hagen Smith, community relations chairman. “It was a strong and very moving moment,” Smith said.

Smith has only recently begun his position on the elected board, but he said being in the forefront always is fun. Smith’s idea of feeding the homeless in the spring came from seeing that once the holidays have passed, activities to support the homeless tend to be disregarded. Once the plan was carried out, Smith received a considerable amount of support to make the idea come to life.

Provided photo | Student Government Association members prepare sandwiches for sack lunches that will go to the homeless.
Provided photo | Student Government Association members prepare sandwiches for sack lunches that will go to the homeless.

“Preparing all the meals and feeding the homeless made me feel really good,” said Emily Henriquez, a social services major. “You get an instant connection with these people. It lightens up their faces.” Henriquez said it was “special and personal” to go out and give sacks lunches to the homeless. For many members, the activity involved more than just completing a community service task. Coming to terms with an understanding of the difficulties that are experienced by the homeless shaped how they see life outside of college.

One student took time to explain how there are some people who are for the most part ignored by society. He said overlooking the homeless or choosing not to concentrate on issues involving them can be a selfish thing. “It’s good to go out and connect to that part of society so that these people aren’t forgotten,” said Ren Malone, a graphic design major. “They need help more than anybody, I think it’s a good thing to do.”
SGA members said they are planning more community service projects for the next month.

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