A group of art majors paint a mural for Circle of Concern during Webster Works Wednesday, Oct. 7. From left to right: Mario Santander, Emily Pederson, Katie King, Ann Losche, Brian McCulloch, Shannon Piwowarczyk and Gary Pach.
By VINCENZA PREVITE
Webster Works Worldwide (WWW), Webster University’s annual community service day, gathered students and faculty members in teams to help those in need Wednesday, Oct. 7, at local community service organizations. At the St. Louis campus alone, there were over 120 projects and over 1,300 volunteers.
“I am very grateful to be able to coordinate such a wonderful project,” said Heather Arora, WU’s special events coordinator. “It’s clear that Webster University and our generous faculty, staff, students and alums are making a difference in our communities.”
Gary Passanise, a WU professor and team leader of the mural painting project held at the Circle of Concern, West County’s community charity, said he was glad both students and teachers could be part of such a wonderful experience.
“It’s nice to see students get involved doing community service work,” Passanise said. “I started painting a preliminary sketch of a farmers market earlier today. Later on students came to help.”
Six students, five of them art majors, volunteered for the mural painting project.
“Anyone can be part of this project,” Passanise said. “You don’t necessarily have to be an art major, you just have to enjoy painting and be able to help. Fortunately, I had the pleasure to work with students who are talented painters.”
Sabrina Reveron, a junior international relations major, volunteered for WWW every year since she started classes at WU.
“This is my third year doing community service work for Webster,” Reveron said. “I feel that every time I participate I’m making someone happy, even if it’s just painting doors or gardening. I’ve seen a lot of students participating in different projects, but I think we need more support. If we have time to watch TV, read magazines and hang out with friends, then we should have time to help those in need as well.”
Maria Ramirez, a junior media communications student and team leader of the Midtown Catholic Charities (MCC) community services, said her team’s main goal was not only to do community service hours, but to learn more about the type of programs the charity promoted. Twelve volunteers participated in MCC project, most of whom were students at WU.
The MCC community services provide help to families whose incomes are less than $10,000 per year. They also organize community programs during the whole year, including a gardening club, a walking club and many programs supporting women’s well-being. Each month, they offer help to over 20 new families.
“The types of programs promoted by this charity are very unique,” Ramirez said. “Not only do they encourage healthy household relationships, but they also encourage a healthy lifestyle.”
Ramirez said she was pleased with the final outcome of the project and to have provided joy to children.
“We mainly painted the installations, we painted doors, a park and collected vegetables from their garden,” Ramirez said. “We wanted to have everything beautiful for when the kids came back.”
