Lakeland Mirror

Issue date: 1/28/10 Section: News

Media Credit: Martha Schott Martha Schott, Alan Mock, and Ye Cheng lend a helping hand.

Media Credit: Martha Schott Some of the volunteers proudly show off the coat check tags they made.

Media Credit: Martha Schott Students, faculty, and staff are ready to help in whatever way they can.

On Jan. 16, a group of Lakeland College students, staff, and faculty attended a volunteer event at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan. This event was coordinated by the Faculty Outreach Committee to provide an opportunity for new transfers and freshmen to get to know the community and to meet new friends.

One of the groups was responsible for painting murals and making posters for the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. Day event. The other group helped in the mailing room, and preparing the newsletter and invitation.

Ryoung-ki Kim, a member of the first group, helped to paint the murals. She was glad that she had the time to do something for the community, especially for the younger kids. "I was a kindergarten teacher, and I did that kind of work every day. When I worked there, painting, I thought about the happy faces of children, and the pictures that they will draw from their minds. It really makes me feel happiness when I think of that," she said.

Yuko Ikawa, who was a member of the second group, arranged the coat check numbers. "I went to art exhibitions several times before, when I was in Japan. Every time, I just see the face of the exhibitions, and do not really realize the work behind them. However, I do know it now."

Ikawa went on to elaborate on the coat-checking process. She talked of how almost everyone knows to get a coat check number when they go to an exhibition so they can get their personal items back afterwards. However, few people know about what goes on behind the scenes, and how there are people arranging the tags to streamline the coat-return process. Ikawa also said that her experiences at the event were meaningful to her.

In a discussion after the event, many of the volunteers said thought they learned something from the experience at the Arts Center.

"We realized that we'd not only saved money for the Arts Center, but we had also had a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes in a non-profit organization," said Martha Schott, chair of the Faculty Outreach Committee.

Preschool Director Keely Phippen said she really appreciated the volunteers' work at the event and hopes the students can come back and help in the preschool when the children study Japan and China. The studies will focus on Japanese and Chinese culture, including the Chinese New Year - which this year is the "Tiger" year. Phippen anticipated the volunteers would thoroughly enjoy helping out at the preschool.

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