Colin O’Leary 

Staff Writer 

For the 7th annual Martin Luther King (MLK) Day of Service, ESU partnered with the non-profit organization Pennsylvania Treatment and Healing (PATH), which provides services and programs to younger students in need.

From 1 p.m. to 4 pm., students, staff and faculty filled gift bags and wrote cards to the PATH students at ESU’s University Center on Feb. 6.

“We know that the community in which we live have a lot of needs, so generally, we coordinate with a social group outside — a non-profit social group — and find out what the needs are and bring them into the collaboration and partnership,” said Lurine Allotey, administrator for the Center for Multicultural Affairs and Inclusive Education and coordinator of the MLK Day of Service

The gift bags were filled with snacks, clothing, hygiene products and more based on what the organization found that the students needed. 

Volunteers also set up designated tables for card-making, and students and faculty could design their own cards and write hopeful letters and words of encouragement.

“Simple word of inspiration,” said Allotey.

These weren’t the only tables on display for the day of service. ESU’s Wellness Center also had a table to help out with the cause.

“We’re always out there trying to lend an assisting hand,” said Paul Ternosky, a senior social work student who works for the Wellness Center.

Ternosky enjoys the MLK Day of Service because of the air of diversity.

“You have the diversity of the different types of offices that are diverging in on one day to do their part,” he said.

The Wellness Center focuses on the safety and protection of students on campus, and that’s part of the reason Ternosky wants to be at these events.

“It’s all about making sure people are protected [and] people are safe while getting that college experience as well, so that’s our typical reason for being out here with the day of service,” he said.

At the end of the day, a hundred bags were made for the PATH students.

But there’s more to it than the number of gift bags. For Allotey, it’s about students getting involved and realizing that there are needs beyond their needs. It’s about the concept of volunteerism.

“We hope that our students on campus would’ve gained a great appreciation for service,” she said.

What was the goal at the end of the day according to Allotey?

“At the end of the day, we hope that we have helped our community that we live in and the students that are in need.”

Email Colin at: 

coleary3@live.esu.edu