‘Tis the season of giving

    From gardening and landscaping to repairing books and crafting, 215 Chapman students dedicated part their Saturday afternoon to community service.

    For Chapman's third annual Day of Service, Nov. 19, students completed 600 hours of service, said Justin Koppelman, student civic engagement program coordinator for the Department of Student and Campus Life.

    Participants volunteered at 10 local agencies. Students, including junior integrated educational studies major Patricia Abouabdo, said Day of Service helped them understand issues in the community and was an organized and easy way for them to give back, if only for a short period of time.

   "We live in a privileged community at Chapman and in Orange County," Abouabdo said. "It's nice to be able to do things for others who aren't as privileged."

    Abouabdo's project was painting games such as four square and hopscotch on the blacktop at Jefferson Elementary in Santa Ana.

   Day of Service coincided with the completion of the Give a Little Bit campaign, one of Chapman's 150th anniversary projects. The goal of the campaign, which began in the summer of 2009, was to engage the Chapman community in 150,000 hours of service.

    Chapman has now completed 150,105 hours of service for the Give a Little Bit campaign, said Jerry Price, dean of students and vice chancellor for student affairs.

    Price said it's important for students to be engaged in their immediate community, because Chapman's mission to form students into global citizens starts at the local level.

    "Students need to realize that their involvement correlates strongly with the success of the community," Price said.

    Volunteers gathered in the Piazza at 9 a.m. before splitting up to participate in service events for Casa Teresa, O.C. Coastkeeper, Jefferson Elementary, Think Together, Pretend City, the Heritage Museum and Mary's Kitchen.

    Those who signed up for projects for Beckstrand Cancer Foundation and O.C. Animal Care stayed on campus, while others took buses to off-campus locations.

    Day of Service participants reconvened in the Student Union at 1 p.m. for free pizza, sweatshirts, giveaways and the culmination celebration of the Give a Little Bit campaign.

    One of the most important parts of a service experience is reflection, Koppelman said.

    "We need to think about what we did do and what we didn't do," Koppelman said. "Hopefully students will continue to serve the community and not be one-and-done after this day."

    Senior psychology major Jimbo Lozano led the service trip to Pretend City, a children's museum in Irvine.

    "It's a good teaching and volunteer opportunity," Lozano said. "We can make a big impact in a small amount of time."