A group of Georgia State Law students, faculty and staff helped local charity Caring for Others as part of the inaugural Law Week Community Service Project, which concluded Law Week 2017. Volunteers gathered at Caring for Others at 8:30 a.m. April 8 to start packing the various food items donated by the Atlanta Community Food Bank. They continued working through the late afternoon, helping to load the grocery-filled bags into the cars of families in need.
Student Bar Association President Darlene Childers (J.D. ’17) organized the volunteer project as a way to highlight the importance of serving one’s community, and to start a Law Week tradition.
“It helps underscore Georgia State Law's commitment to public service and giving back to the community,” she said. “My hope is that doing a community service project will become an annual addition to Law Week.”
Associate Dean for Student Affairs Kelly Cahill Timmons praised Childers for coordinating the event. “Darlene is a great example of someone who finds ways and time to give back despite a busy schedule,” Timmons said. “She recognizes the importance of community service, and through organizing these projects, encourages her peers to give back also.
“We emphasize the importance of participation in service projects because it helps our students grow to be great public servants in whatever path they take in their careers,” Timmons said.
The service projects also serve as an opportunity for faculty, staff and students to engage outside the classroom, Childers said. Many participants brought their children to work alongside other volunteers throughout the day.
“It was a great chance to meet and volunteer with great people,” said Jongwon Lee (J.D. ’20). “I'm an evening student and have had little chance to interact with day students.”
Lee said he brought along his 7-year-old daughter because participation in community service is a tradition for them.
“We immigrated from Korea 10 years ago and have no other family in the U.S. My daughter always asked to see her grandparents, cousins, or sibling during major holidays,” Lee said. “So, we decided to make our own family and do something for them. Every year, we participate in 'Hosea Feed the Hungry' during Thanksgiving and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and we 'adopt a senior' on Father's and Mother's Day and Christmas.”
Lee said volunteering at Caring for Others reminded him of a Korean proverb, which states ‘When you share food with another person, he is your family.’
“I found the College of Law is a great family when we did something for underrepresented people,” Lee said. “I also thought about when I came to the U.S. and had nothing, and the local community adopted us. I feel that I found a great family in the College of Law, and I’m a proud member of my new family.”
Childers organized two previous community service projects with Caring for Others, an international human services organization seeking to eradicate poverty through feeding, educating, clothing and housing individuals and families around the world.
“It’s a wonderful organization, and I am inspired by the work they do,” Childers said.