MC Day of Service invites campus community to give back during Bicentennial Homecoming

Marco Pineda. SGA president, hopes MC Day of Service will become an annual tradition during MC's Homecoming Week.

Throughout Mississippi Christian University’s (MC) 200-year history, students, faculty and staff have devoted their time and resources to serve the surrounding community through various initiatives.

On Tuesday, Oct. 27, the MC Student Government Association, along with several partner groups, will host a special “MC Day of Service,” which organizers hope will become an annual MC Homecoming tradition, according to SGA President Marco Pineda.

“Our campus community has service as a core value, emphasizing our role in uplifting and supporting our surrounding community,” said Pineda, a senior communication student from Oxford. “As believers, we’re called to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and it’s important for us to actually go out and take action. Many times, that may look like spending an hour or two sorting clothes, repairing flower beds or distributing food boxes, any number of things that can impact the community.”

Pineda said student groups at MC, including Clubs and Tribes and the Campus Activities Board, have pledged their support for the daylong event, along with faculty and staff. His vision is for participants to spread across Clinton and the surrounding Jackson metropolitan area throughout the day and serve as many people as possible.

Members of the SGA and the SGA Senate participate in a Day of Service each year. During the previous academic year, the SGA conceived of expanding it to a university-wide effort that would take place during MC’s 200th anniversary.

“Since this is MC’s Bicentennial Homecoming, there’s no better time to have a campus-wide Day of Service, where we can give back to the surrounding community that has supported this institution for two centuries,” Pineda said.

Pineda isn’t alone in his enthusiasm for giving back to others. Nick Allen, a junior mathematics major from Vicksburg, helped plan and coordinate communications for the event.

“MC Day of Service is a great opportunity to put into practice the values that we talk about as a university,” Allen said. “It is easy to get caught up in our own schedules and responsibilities, but taking time to serve others is a good reminder that we are part of a larger community and have a responsibility to contribute to it.”

Allen said the activities bring people together around a shared purpose.

“Whether someone is helping to organize the event, volunteering directly with an organization or supporting the effort in another way, everyone has something to contribute,” he said. “MC Day of Service gives us an opportunity to build relationships with people outside our usual circles and recognize the role we can play in making our community a better place.”

Pineda said SGA is partnering with the Clinton Public School District, the Clinton Community Christian Corporation (4Cs), and the We Will Go ministry. A Rise Against Hunger meal-packing event will take place on the Clinton campus, so MC students can participate without having to travel.

“We believe MC Day of Service is a meaningful opportunity for our university community to put their values into action during Homecoming Week,” Pineda said. “We hope this inaugural event will become a lasting tradition, continuing for years to come.”

For more information about how to support or participate in the MC Day of Service, email the SGA at sga@mc.edu. Locations scheduled for MC Day of Service include:

Northside Elementary, Clinton, 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

We Will Go, Jackson, 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Rise Against Hunger, Alumni Hall, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Quisenberry Library, Clinton, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Eastside Elementary, Clinton, 10 a.m. to noon

His Heart, Jackson, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Stewpot Community Services, Jackson, 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Clinton 4Cs, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Clinton Nature Center, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Buried Treasure, Byram, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.