Clothing donations for Wings of Grace are being collected from now until Friday, and drop-off locations include Morgan Hall, Reese-Phifer Hall, Farrah Hall, Rowand-Johnson and the Community Service Center in the Ferguson Center.
Katie Clark, a freshman majoring in athletic training, and a number of her English 102 classmates will be collecting donations for Wings of Grace, a nonprofit organization located in Tuscaloosa, for their final project. Collyn Warner is teaching the course, which examines notions of global and local poverty this semester.
“For their final projects, my students have engaged with service learning opportunities as part of engaging and learning from the world around us,” Warner said. “My students have volunteered in a variety of organizations throughout the community in the process, and I am so proud of their efforts. One of my students, Katie Clark, started volunteering at Wings of Grace in Tuscaloosa. Wings of Grace does not charge its donation recipients, and Katie noted that this organization was running low on supplies, and it still supplies clothing to people who are still recovering from the 2011 tornado.”
Clark said Wings of Grace is a nonprofit affiliated with Forest Lake Baptist Church that opened following the April 27, 2011 tornado, which devastated the city of Tuscaloosa.
“They provide clothing, cleaning supplies and things to really keep people going for those who are able to prove that they are low-income and in poverty,” Clark said. “I found them through the Tuscaloosa Volunteer Reception Center, where a man named Richard actually helped me connect with Wings of Grace, but I had no ties with them before I started the class. The whole idea was to try and help keep the clothing coming in so they could continue to provide services.”
Clark said she was surprised by what she learned once began speaking to those working at Wings of Grace.
“When I went and worked there, they talked about how when people spoke of natural disasters, they generally mean short term, thinking it is all over within six weeks. What they do not think about is the people who need help and are in poverty, which continues well after the disaster and cleanup is over,” she said. “It is not something that you think about very often as a UA student, because most of us do not live that way and have not lived that way. It gives me a heart-warming feeling; it is definitely not about the recognition.”
Warner said it was a class effort, and everyone assisted in one way or another, but most importantly, her students were learning in a very meaningful way outside of the classroom.
“They are recognizing that what they learn within the academy’s walls are realities beyond the academy,” Warner said. “My students are learning that the world itself is a classroom in which to learn and engage. They are learning that they can combine what they have learned in school with producing some positive good for the community surrounding us. I hope that they have learned in these processes that it is important to leverage your educational privilege to share with our local community.”
