By Amanda Sams
SPJ Vice President
Community service is one of the tenets of the Society of Professional Journalists, and the University of Alabama chapter put that tenet into action Feb. 8 by throwing a Valentine’s Day party for a group of 150 area children at the Boys and Girls Club of West Alabama.
Volunteers wore matching crimson shirts, and the chapter provided punch and cookies for the children, thanks to generous donations of UA students and chapter members.
Chapter members tied journalism into the project by coming up with a standard news story template that allowed volunteers to “interview” children and fill in the blanks with answers such as their dream job or their role model. This activity was the first introduction to the concept of reporting for many children and they seemed interested in answering the questions and seeing UA students turn their responses into a story. Volunteers wrote these stories onto red construction paper hearts, and the children glued them into their homemade Valentine’s Day cards.
In addition to teaching children about interviewing and news writing, the volunteers led games such as charades and musical chairs. They also decorated the room with several pink and red balloons and played “Keep it Up” with many of the smaller children.
Chapter leaders attribute the success of the event to many exuberant volunteers who did everything from helping set up to making cards with the children to cleaning up at the end. Students in JN 311 brought so many cookies that that SPJ had several dozen cookies left over, which were donated to the local soup kitchen.
The club plans to repeat the event next year and will continue to use journalism to serve the community in other events this semester.
