For the fourth year in a row, members of the St. Andrews University community gathered together to provide service to non-profit organizations in Scotland County in honor of the late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Among the 25 sites were the Storytelling Arts Center and Hospice of Scotland County mixed in with new locations such as Camp Monroe and Operation In as Much.

Virginia Ray at Operation In as Much said she was thrilled to have a group made up of St. Andrews University wrestlers with her.

“They were wonderful,” Ray said. “What they could accomplish in an hour would have taken us a day! Also, they were very polite and great to work with. ”

Nick Sauceda, student crew captain at Operation In as Much, said that there was no better feeling than knowing you were able to help someone.

Another group of volunteers continued a long-standing relationship with the Storytelling Art Center of the Southeast.

“We have a history with St. Andrews,” SASC Executive Director Jan Schmidt said. “Looking around the Center you can see numerous projects that they have done over the years. They are making the Center a better place to be. Their work was phenomenal, just wonderful! The guys were so polite. They are great; they are always great! And they are really good people.

The students helped the center with its stage, put down a dance floor, moved about 30 partitions across the street, and cleaned our parking lot and repainted the lines

“They helped us to prepare for the ‘Dancing with the Scotland Stars,” she said.

St. Andrews Director of Career Services Renée Jones served as the chair of the planning committee that coordinated the service projects with community leaders. Once the organizations were lined up, it was time to turn the focus on the students.

“I began with finding students to serve as crew captains for each group of volunteers,” Jones said. “Together with these Crew Captains, we were able to get 380 participants including students, faculty, and staff members who went to 25 sites throughout Scotland County and together gave approximately 1000 man-hours of service.”

That hard work was something university President Paul Baldasare noticed as he visited sites throughout the day.

“I had the chance to visit half a dozen of the sites and saw the students, faculty and staff providing all manner of service to others through these various organizations and work opportunities,” Baldasare said. “It is a great chance for St. Andrews to get out in the community and build stronger relationships with both individuals and organizations in Scotland County.”

Evidence of these strengthened relationships can be seen in the results for the volleyball and men’s lacrosse teams. Volleyball worked with Partners in Ministry and Coach Holly Mandeville arranged with the site coordinator to have the players come back throughout the semester to continue working with them. The men’s lacrosse team worked at Camp Monroe and Coach Chris Sherman is making plans for the team to return next year.

“As I drove throughout Scotland County taking photographs during the Day of Service, I was greeted with smiles, hugs, and appreciation from the site managers as well as the volunteers,” Jones said. “It made me very proud to be a member of the St. Andrews Community and the Scotland County Community.”