The campus is buzzing with excitement for this coming November. Not only is St. Augustine’s birthday coming up, on November 13th, and Veterans Day, on November 12th, but there is a new reason for November to be a special month for Merrimack.
There is a new annual day of service on November 10th called ‘Mack Gives Back,’ beginning this month. The office of Mission and Student Affairs have thought up ‘Mack Gives Back’ as an opportunity to coincide with Merrimack’s Agenda For Distinction Plan. In addition to this years Mass prior to convocation, ‘Mack Gives Back’ is hoped to be a unifying volunteering day of service to bring the Merrimack community closer together while giving back to the community.
The idea behind choosing November 10th for ‘Mack Gives Back’ stems from Merrimack College’s history with veterans, as the college originally opened in 1947 primarily to provide an education to those returning from war. Not coincidently, ‘Mack Gives Back’ is also meant to represent a birthday remembrance for St. Augustine.
Father Ray Dlugos explains, “The ‘Mack Gives Back’ day of service is meant to honor those who have served us by serving others. The colleges plan of Agenda For Distinction includes wanting to build sustainable traditions.”
Students, facility, staff, and alumni are all welcome to participate in this day of service. People are encouraged to sign up with groups and organizations to create a unifying experience. For example, the residence life office could sign up as a team, while sororities and fraternities can sign up together as well.
Beginning Tuesday October 9th until October 31st, anyone that is part of the Merrimack community can sign up at tinyurl.com/mackgivesback, where they will be asked to choose their volunteer preferences. There will be two time frames to choose from: 9am-1pm or 12pm-4pm. During signing up, a preference will be given to try to accommodate people’s desired volunteer time.
If groups have other sights in mind, they are encouraged to contact Brain Suehs-Vassel. Some of the confirmed volunteer sights are Imec, Bread & Roses, Lazarus House, the Boys & Girls Club, Atria Marland Place, The Wish Project,The Lawrence Department of Public Works, the Methuen Department of Public Works, and many more!
In choosing the volunteer locations, Merrimack College is trying to do direct service for veterans. After ‘Mack Gives Back’, the community is invited to attend a special dinner at Sparky’s Place in which veterans that are part of the Merrimack community will be honored. Later that evening at 7:30pm, the community is invited to attend the Merrimack hockey game against UConn. After the game, the evening will be continued at Augie’s Pub to celebrate St. Augustine’s birthday, who would be proud because he is said to be the Patron Saint of Brewers.
The goal for ‘Mack Gives Back’ is in correlation of Merrimack College’s philosophy to enlighten hearts, engage minds, and empower lives.
“Mack Gives Back is meant to be a unifying experience for campus, as everyone will be doing something together”. Father Ray Dlugos states, “Chance for us to recognize people who have been of service to others”. The day will connect the Merrimack community in a unifying tradition.
So which organization would St. Augustine have volunteered with? Father Ray Dlugos thinks, “The Boys & Girls Club. He was very smart and he would light up with children around.”
A good follow up to Mack Gives Back would be M.O.R.E, Merrimack Out Reach Experience, while the contents of the trip are a secret, going on the retreat is a life changing experience. If you have not had a chance to attend M.O.R.E, it will be the weekend of November 16-18th this semester
November 10, 2012 will be the first annual ‘Mack Gives Back’ day. The link for registration will show up in the daily digest and what’s up emails. In addition, there will be posters with a QR code, which will take smart phone users to the registration page. If anyone has questions, please contact Brain Suehs-Vassel, Father Ray Dlugos, or Bev Lavallee.