Organizations at Wayne Community College stepped up to help those who would go without in this season of plenty.
Among those groups that made sure that local tables are graced with Thanksgiving dinners this year were
the college’s Association of Educational Office Professionals (AEOP) unit that provided dinners for two students and their families,
the Future Leaders of the World (FLOW) Club that gave boxes of food to 21 students and community members and their families,
the Criminal Justice Club that sent dinner components to five community members who were needy, elderly, or hurricane-impacted, and
the Practical Nursing Club, which is furnishing a meal to a needy student’s family.
The groups collected items from their members and others in the college family to fill out the menus of turkey, traditional sides, and desserts.
There were some signature differences between the contents of the boxes. The AEOP always includes a box of tea bags and a bag of sugar in its baskets. FLOW makes sure that all of its food items are easy to prepare without ingredients beyond what is in the box. The Criminal Justice puts in shakers of salt and pepper and appropriate paper goods, and adds a ham to the boxes for larger families.
As the Thanksgiving meals were going out the door, these WCC organizations and more were already working on their Christmas projects.
“Wayne Community College isn’t an ivory tower. It is the community’s college. It IS the community,” explained WCC Public Information Officer Tara Humphries. “If the community at large experiences joy or pain, so does this campus. And when our neighbors are in need, we are going to help them, whether it is the student in the next desk or the elderly couple next door.”
“I am often overwhelmed by the caring and generosity I see around me at WCC,” Humphries said. “It is a privilege to be able to work in such an environment.”
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, the college serves 14,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 70 college credit programs. WCC’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.