FC community shares aim to serve others through action

Dedication to Our Community means many things to many people. This year, the Journalism Education Association chose this theme for their annual Scholastic Journalism Week. Here in the city of Fresno, our population of 500,000 consists of countless stories from all around the country.

A job of a newspaper is to be provide news to the public. Whether the news is national or local, the small stories tell the stories of individuals in a community, sharing their perspective to others. Local news shares concerns and interests of neighbors, businesses and community leaders.

Some students believe that this regional form of news no longer holds the same importance as in the past. Arundeep Singh, ’21, feels that in today’s news, world, national information outweighs the value of community news.

“I feel like world news is more important,” Singh said. “What’s happening in larger threats outside of our country is way more important than ones inside of our country. I enjoy hearing about world peace and just how we’re making more connections with other countries.”

In the following podcast Landon Goldsborough, ’19, discusses how he serves in his community.

In addition to covering community related events, participating in them also provides an impact on those associated to it. The  Fresno Christian campus achieves this goal through various school serve events. One such event has become an annual tradition. The yearly FC Serve Day focuses on making an impact on those in the surrounding neighborhoods and across Fresno.

On this one day, students take part in a time of service through various locations, both on campus and out in the community. In previous years, participants have traveled to places such as the cleaning up graffiti along city walls and at the Community Food Bank sorting and packaging food.

Students and staff have also traveled to local churches to aid them in various jobs such as sorting food or cleaning out warehouses. This provides an opportunity for students to make a positive impact on others and also help out those that are in need.

The Fresno Bee shares a story of a man who volunteers his time in maintaining graves in a Selma, California cemetery.

A mentally disabled man spends almost all his time volunteering in a Selma cemetery caring for graves – including his wife’s. Don’t miss the beautiful @FresnoBee video by @ck_foto with aerial drone footage: https://t.co/n4LlwJPkGP pic.twitter.com/aPDHz95ynE

— Carmen George (@CarmenGeorge) January 8, 2018

Campus Bible and leadership advisor Aubri Foster believes that the title of community belongs to those around whether it be relatives or those in nearby neighborhoods.

“We are called first to be loving in our community and to our neighbors,” Foster said. “Honestly, this is saying that our closest neighbors are in our homes. My community starts with my husband, children, and family. It then trickles outward to my church, workplace, neighborhood, city, county, state, and so forth. If I am loving my first neighbors, well, then I am on the right track.

Whether it becomes serving at a church or volunteering throughout the city, campus students choose to make a difference through service. One of the easiest ways to make an impact comes through working at a nearby church. One of the students that takes this method of service is Landon Goldsborough, ’19. Goldsborough works as an instrumentalist on his church’s worship team and has for the past three years.

“Right now I work at a local church on the worship team,” Goldsborough said. “I am an instrumentalist there so Sundays and then weekly practices I serve there. At first I just saw the need for a new instrumentalist because they were expanding into other instruments and they needed some more people. So, I just started attending some of the practices and just getting to know the instrument.”

Another student that aims to make a difference in the neighboring is Hannah Garcia, ’20. Garcia serves around her community, including at homeless shelters once a month at varying locations. In the near future, she hopes to begin working with nearby senior citizens.

“I try to do community service at least once a month,” Garcia said. “Whether it be helping with school functions or serving at the homeless shelter. Most recently I’m hoping to begin consistently volunteering at a senior citizen apartment complex. I began volunteering because I felt the need to give back to my community and be serving for the Lord through community work.”

Another service that the Feather staff partakes in is Kids Day. This event raises money for Valley Children’s Healthcare through the sales of special newspapers on street corners for $1 or more. Through standing on street corners from 5 till 7:30 a.m., the staff supports this community organization in their efforts.

By remaining dedicated to the community and those around Fresno, The Feather Online manages to build relationships with individuals throughout the valley. As Scholastic Journalism Week approaches, this yearlong theme of service gets spotlighted for a week, showcasing all the good going on around the country.

For more articles read Campus students impact community through service and Discover Fresno encourages engagement with local organizations, pt. 1.

This author can be reached via Twitter: @KyleClem5 and via e-mail.