Arizona College continues to reach out to the community in many ways; it is important to us because the local community is our home and our students’ home. While volunteering helps designated companies fulfill tasks to help those in need, it is much more than that. Volunteering also creates an environment that builds stronger relationships as a team, resulting in a bond that can last a lifetime.
- Hosted an Arizona College booth at the Arizona National Guard and Arizona State University Career Expo
- Our veterans love to share their success stories with other Veterans.
- City of Mesa Veteran’s Day Parade
- We had 72 students walk along with 6 faculty members. Over 20 students along with faculty members were select to carry local fallen solider flags during the parade.
- Toys for Tots at Christmas
- We gathered over 100 toys!
We also have monthly activities like canned food drives. We just collected over 150 cans of food to donate to Open Arms Care Center in Gilbert. Open Arms is the only agency of its kind in the Town of Gilbert, providing food and clothing of its kind in the Town of Gilbert, providing food and clothing to those in need.. Coordinating a clothing drive is next on our agenda! Students from all programs also volunteer on a regular basis at St. Mary’s Food Bank distribution center in Phoenix. We had a great turnout in March!
One of our most fun and enjoyable community events is held at a local assisted living community, The Grand Colony, in Mesa. Our Mesa students love the seniors and the seniors love them. Most recently was their Valentine’s Day Dance, but we were also there for Christmas and New Years as well. The three-piece band was so awesome; everyone danced as they served pie! The students are amazing and bring much needed cheer by serving dinner and desert, interacting with the seniors with lots of laughter and even some dancing. We are now their preferred school for every event! We had a great time and the smiles on both the students and senior’s faces are priceless.
We also have new military flags, donated by one of our former Veteran students and will be having a formal flag presentation within the next month. We are so lucky to have such a great group, many of our graduated veteran students still come back to give back!
Thank you Ms. Lemau for taking the time for this interview and for coordinating the involvement of Arizona College in many of these community events. Thank you to the students and staff who volunteer their time to help others. The Veteran Steering Committee meets on a monthly and is open to any veterans, supporters and staff from both campuses that want to get involved. For more information, contact Jan Lemau: jlemau@azcollegeold.local or Dennis Hobgood, Director of Agency Business Development: dhobgood@azcollegeold.local.
Learn more about how Arizona College helps veterans get involved.
Information in this blog post is accurate as of May 20, 2015.