Belmont held a “Unity Through Service Week” coordinating with the campus theme, E Pluribus Unum, to offer convocations and volunteer opportunities to students. Tim Stewart, director of service learning, and student Gabrielle Hampton were the driving forces behind the week.
The week began with an opening convocation on Sept. 17 featuring Caroline Blackwell, executive director of the Metro Human Relations Commission. Later in the day, students and faculty had a “mix-it-up” luncheon in the cafeteria. As they entered the cafeteria, they each drew a colored card from the bowl, and sat at tables coordinating with their color. At each event, the first 40 students to arrive received a single ticket, which could be exchanged for a single free meal from one of the food trucks on during the Unity Rally on Sept. 23.
“The crowds started small, and grew as the week went on. Some of the later events were very heavily attended,” he said. One of the most well attended events of the entire week was the one concerning homelessness. “There were about 80 students that came to homelessness program and that was great to see.”
Another one of the most successful events of the week was a field day held for adults with disabilities. Several Belmont athletes came to volunteer for the event.
