Wake Forest students begin 2022 year with Pro Humanitate spirit
Written by Lily Egbert | WFU ’26
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, many in-person events were moved to virtual platforms or canceled entirely, leaving Wake Forest students without typical, face-to-face volunteer engagement opportunities with the Winston-Salem Community. With the 2022-23 Academic Year in full swing, featuring a return to in-person classes and campus events, the Office of Civic and Community Engagement has set its sights on restoring in-person community engagement for the Wake Forest community.
Before students made their return to Reynolda Campus, the Pre-Orientation Program, Students Promoting Action and Responsibility in the Community (S.P.A.R.C.), gave incoming first-year students the chance to become deeply involved in local non-profit organizations. The Pre-Orientation program allowed first-year students to form deep bonds with their peers and take the first step toward becoming leaders in the Winston-Salem Community.
This year’s program hosted 54 members of the Class of 2026 working for 12 different non-profit organizations – both on and off campus – including Campus Kitchen, Campus Garden, Period Packing, Second Harvest Food Bank, Greater Triad Diaper Bank of North Carolina, the Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston-Salem, the S.E.C.U. Family House, the Diggs-Latham Elementary School Garden Classrooms, Keep Winston Salem Beautiful, Kimberley Park Elementary, and Cook Elementary.
Service for Law School Foundations Week took place on August 19th, with Wake Forest University School of Law Class of 2025 contributing direct service to various local organizations. This experiential experience instilled the Pro Humanitate spirit into the new first-year Law students while spreading the spirit across Winston-Salem.
“This was a fantastic experience to engage with the young Latinx students in the community,” explained Jacob Padillo in regard to his experience volunteering with local students in the Winston-Salem area. “We had a great time getting to know these families and helping prepare their kids for school.”
The Office of Civic and Community Engagement hosted a Day of Service on September 9th, where members of the WFU community devoted their afternoon to helping various local community partners. Together, undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and staff assisted with different tasks, including beautifying the outdoor spaces at Kaleideum North, assisting construction efforts at Habitat for Humanity, sorting food and perishable items at Second Harvest Food Bank NWNC, and helping Latino Community Services prepare for the start of their after-school programs.
On September 22nd, Latino Community Services celebrated the Aramark Day of Service with help from volunteers from the Office of Civic and Community Engagement, United Way, and Harvest Table. Volunteers worked with local families to build bookshelves for their homes and entertained numerous children by making bookmarks. Harvest Table provided a delicious, hot meal for all families, staff, and volunteers to enjoy during and after service contributions. The afternoon gifted fantastic resources to families with an essential focus on reading for young children.
For any member of the Wake Forest community looking to get more involved with volunteer efforts throughout Winston-Salem, we encourage you to explore GivePulse for various opportunities or to reach out to the Office of Civic & Community Engagement directly at communityengagement@wfu.edu.