INA, Ill. (Dec. 4, 2014) – With finals only one week away, the First Year Experience (FYE) Orientation classes at Rend Lake College are finishing up several service projects for four community organizations.

Around 600 freshmen students participated in the service projects, which were chosen by the class as a whole. Students could pick from The Night’s Shield Children’s Shelter in West Frankfort, the Amy Center in Mt. Vernon, the on-campus Angel Tree Project, and the RLC Student Emergency Fund.

Two freshmen, Robert Grider, LEFT, of Dix and Dalton Miller, RIGHT, of Mt. Vernon carry a box full of donations from their FYE Orientation class that will be taken to The Night's Shield Children's Shelter next week. Donations included needed items at the shelter, such as toys, food, clothes, and more. Click on the image for a larger view.
(ReAnne Palmer / RLC Public Information)

FYE Coordinator Hillary Halsey said the service projects are designed to be ways the students can get active both on campus and in local communities.

“I am so proud of the orientation students and their commitment to helping such worthy causes, especially during the holidays,” said Halsey. “Several students went above and beyond what was asked of them, and I couldn’t be more appreciative of their hard work. To them I say, ‘way to go guys!’”

In several classes, students sold 50/50 tickets for the Amy Center with the proceeds going to King City Books, also in Mt. Vernon, to donate items back to the Center. With a few days left for students to sell, they’ve already raised just over $3,100. Other classes chose to sell the raffle tickets to donate to the Student Emergency Fund, but the final totals are not complete.

One class, pictured below, donated armloads of clothing, food, office supplies, and much more to The Night’s Shield. Several members of the class will visit the children’s shelter next week to deliver the donations and tour the facility.

One FYE Orientation class collected dozens of items for donations Wednesday as a part of their service project. Pictured is, FROM LEFT, Kelci White (Wayne City), Chase Chauncey (Mt. Vernon), Kristen Thompson (McLeansboro), Danica Zieren (McLeansboro), Matthew Knight (McLeansboro), Robert Grider (Dix), Courtney Scarbrough (Mt. Vernon), Janie McMurray (Benton), Bjorn Fjermedal (Norway), Kacee Roberts (Ewing), Makaila Todd (Benton), Desiree Casey (Benton), Josh Price (Benton), Baretta Chullen (Thompsonville), and Dalton Miller (Mt. Vernon). Click on the image for a larger view.
(ReAnne Palmer / RLC Public Information)

Also as a class, some chose to participate in the Angel Tree project on campus. Eight Angels were adopted by the orientation classes and items were collected to help satisfy several local children’s Christmas lists.

According to Halsey, the service projects are worth credit in the classes, and the students are encouraged to collect donations from friends and family to help out. The projects are just one aspect of the new orientation program, which also includes helping students engage on campus, learn organization skills, prepare to meet professional standards for behavior, and understand and successfully navigate the college culture.

FYE was named the Higher Learning Commission’s Quality Initiative Project for 2014 due to its action to improve students’ education at RLC. For more information about the First Year Experience, contact Halsey at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1323 or [email protected].