Pictured, students work on the playground of Will Rogers Elementary. OBU photo by Jeremy Scott.
Students serve at the Community Market of Pottawatomie County during OBU’s Serve Shawnee event. OBU photo by Jeremy Scott.
Students haul limbs at C-Bar Horsemanship during OBU’s Serve Shawnee event. OBU photo by Austin Canfield.
OBU Students ‘Serve Shawnee’ During Welcome Week
August 23, 2016
A group of 418 students from Oklahoma Baptist University took to the streets of Shawnee Monday, Aug. 22, to serve the community through numerous projects as part of OBU’s annual “Serve Shawnee” event.
Students served at 25 locations around the community, including the Community Garden, downtown, the early childhood center, Hope House, Horace Mann Elementary, the Japanese Peace Garden, Project Safe, Salvation Army, Santa Fe Depot Museum, and Will Rogers Elementary.
Serve Shawnee began in 2001 to show OBU students they can make an important difference in their community. Each new class of students, including both freshman and transfer students, goes out for three hours to different locations around Shawnee. They are led by upperclassmen and staff members, as they participate in a variety of projects including picking up trash, painting, cleaning, pulling weeds at local care facilities and schools, and much more.
The Serve Shawnee project is part of Welcome Week, a time devoted to making new friends, learning OBU traditions and participating in fun activities during the lead-up to classes. Students meet in small groups, participate in community service projects, compete in “Ka-Rip Wars” as they learn the school yell and participate in The Walk, as they officially join the Bison family.