Praxis, which is College Nine and College Ten’s Service Learning Organization, is a great way to get involved in service projects both on campus and in the Santa Cruz community. Praxis meets weekly and students discuss social justice issues that are affecting the Santa Cruz community and the world at large, and learn about local organizations that are working to address those issues. Throughout each quarter, there are six to eight service learning projects available on the weekends in which students have the opportunity to spend a few hours volunteering with various local organizations. Some of the organizations that Praxis volunteers with throughout the school year include Habitat for Humanity, Second Harvest Food Bank, UNICEF, and Save Our Shores, plus many more.
In honor of Valentine’s Day this year Praxis members visited El Centro Senior Center, which is located in downtown Santa Cruz. El Centro Senior Center is part of the national Mercy Housing Program, which provides affordable housing to families and seniors. Students and seniors spent a Saturday morning making Valentine’s Day cards and baking cupcakes. In all, the students and seniors produced 39 cards, one for each resident staying at the center, and hung them up on each resident’s door. Ashley Artigas, a Praxis member who attended the project, talks about her experience at El Centro:
“During the project, I helped one of the residents, Lou, make cards for his friends. At one point I decided that it would be fun to listen to music while we all crafted together and so I let Lou chose a station on Pandora. He chose an Elvis Presley station and then started singing the songs he knew to all of us. We all joined in the singing as well. Overall, it was so much fun working with the seniors and other Praxis members making cards, baking, and eating chocolate!”
It is a very heart warming experience to work with the seniors and hear them tell stories about their past experiences. And, many of the seniors enjoy interacting with the students. Last year one of the residents showed Praxis members her own beautiful paintings and another woman shared her personal poetry.
Anyone looking to spend time volunteering in the community should consider joining Praxis! It is a great and fun way to meet students and community members while learning about our community and what we can do to improve it. The wide variety of organizations and diverse groups of people we work with are sure to impact and inspire all students and give them a new perspective on various social justice issues.
