Director Jim Peterman described the grassroots energy driving the University’s Community Engagement program as students and community members “working together as citizen’s with a common cause.” Addressing members and guests at the Dec. 14 dinner meeting of the Sewanee Civic Association (SCA), Peterman praised the organization’s support of community initiatives drawing a parallel to the Community Engagement program’s outreach mission. In the business portion of the meeting, SCA officers reported on the Community Chest fund drive and plans to refurbish the ballpark.

Dating from the University’s founding in 1858, the vision included improving conditions for the local people, Peterman said. He cited the examples of St. Andrew’s and St. Mary’s schools for local youth. In the 1930s, nearby Highlander Folk School ushered in a shift in the model.

Outreach workers sought to teach people to make the changes they identified as key, as opposed to outside “experts” deciding what communities needed, Peterman explained.

In the late 1980s, Dixon Myers picked up the torch, launching the Community Chapel Outreach Program, which focused on student and community volunteers building homes for the economically disadvantaged and student mission trips to impoverished countries during holiday breaks.

The University began offering a few courses addressing the outreach concept, and in 2006, the Canale Internship program established stipends for students who undertook semester-long outreach projects in the local community. Professor of philosophy at the University, Peterman became director of the Community Engagement program in 2010. In 2011 he brought the Bonner Leader Program to campus.

Bonner student interns make a four-year commitment to engage in eight to ten hours of community service weekly. In 2014, the Community Engagement program became an AmeriCorps VISTA affiliate, bringing full-time community outreach workers into the local network. VISTA workers focus on partnership and capacity building within their assigned organization, drawing on Bonner and Canale interns for assistance.

At present, the Community Engagement program has 19 VISTA workers and 65 student interns working at 33 sites in the South Cumberland Plateau region. The University offers 10-12 related academic courses each semester. Student interns frequently enlist student volunteers to aid with programs. Last year, 1,444 undergraduate students engaged in some sort of community service, more than three-fourths of the student population.

Programs where Community Engagement workers have a collaborative presence include the Beersheba Springs free medical clinic, the Coalmont Elementary after-school program, the Grundy County Sheriff’s prisoner re-entry program, lunches for low-income children during the summer, and numerous others.

Prior to coming to Sewanee, most students regarded community service as a resume building strategy or a church affiliated endeavor, Peterman said. “We want students to grow into a sense of service that’s connected to social justice,” he stressed. “We want them to learn how to become responsible, engaged citizens of the world.”

Reporting on the Community Chest fund drive, Susan Holmes said $59,000 has been raised so far towards the $116,850 goal of funding 26 local programs. Holmes cited the Community Chest for being unique as a funder for providing operating expenses, a category of needs most funders refuse to accommodate. “An organization can’t do the job it sets out to do without basic funding,” Holmes said. “When you contribute to the Community Chest, you’re providing that kind of support.” Donate by mail, Community Chest, P.O. Box 99, Sewanee, TN 37375, or online https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/119597

“Having a viable ballpark for the children in Sewanee is a quality of life issue,” Stubblefield insisted. A 10-year capital improvement plan being drawn up by Nicholas Barry will be used to define long-term goals and funding requirements.

Nominations for officers are due by the next meeting in March. Top on the list is identifying an individual to serve as Director of Classifieds. For information contact <sewaneecivic@gmail.com>.