The Collaboration Corner

Farmers Market Spring Season was a huge success thanks to the hundreds of patrons who came to check out our vendors and supported our local economy. This Spring season started early in March and ran until April 18 ... but this short Season Four did not dampen the enthusiasm. We had 8 Returning and 8 New vendors and check out who came below.

Numbers from the Market:

• Total Markets Hosted: 4
• Visitors to the Market: 491
• Vendors/Student Groups Participating: 18

This season we had fabulous leaders from our Public Health, and Pharmacy programs come to the Market as well as a team of PH301 Public Health students (Caroline Gibbs, Hailey Bullard, Payton Ballard and Shyann Dixon) who focused their energy on Diabetes Awareness. They teamed up with Pharmacy Students to offer sugar and blood pressure checks for our last Farmers Market. We even had Voter Registration thanks to Dr. Chelsea Kaufman and her W'Engage class.

Check out our mission...

Our mission is to cultivate community well-being through our vibrant Farmers Market in Wingate. This unique CCG program is dedicated to fostering a robust local economy by connecting Wingate residents, faculty, staff and students with fresh, locally sourced produce and artisanal goods. We strive to educate customers on the benefits of quality fresh locally grown foods and healthy eating, and foster the direct relationship between farmers and customers. Beyond nourishing our bodies with wholesome foods, we strive to promote holistic health by collaborating with the many departments of Wingate University to offer educational resources, health services, and wellness activities. Our Farmers Market isn't just a place to shop—it's a lively center for civic engagement where the Wingate campus and community alike can come together, enjoy live music, engage in educational activities, get work experience, and revel in the joy of discovering new flavors and friendships. Together, we're sowing the seeds of a healthier, happier, and more connected community.

What's New for Next Season... Stay Tuned for More Information by August 2024

• The Farmers Market has Joined Wingate University's Online Marketplace that Supports Alumni Businesses ... Can't make it to our Thursday Market? No worries! Imagine Ordering Online and Picking it up on Campus. Shopping Local could not be easier
• Night Markets are Coming ... Imagine shopping under the twinkling solar lights as vendors create a welcoming evening hot spot.

This season we had two young women as our showcase student entrepreneurs. We hope you enjoyed supporting with these Movers and Shakers!

1. Tessa LeeAnn Stewart with Hers Truly Bracelets
2. Lennia H Valarie with Sol Eyewear
   

Be sure to click the links to find out more about these to entrepreneurs and their businesses.

This year has been such a great year for sharing the great SLCE work happening at Wingate University. Here are a few highlights. My sweet Nolan is almost a year old and he is growing so fast I can hardly believe he is the same little nugget we brought home. He is definitely a daily highlight!

• Joining Dr. O. Soremekun's PH301 Class to teach them about Service-Learning at the beginning of the semester to prepare them for what they would be doing this semester. Congrats to them on their recent showcase of their SLCE projects -- it is always a joy to celebrate the work done with our community partners

• Seeing the Community Engaged Class Food & Faith (REL 140) run four sections (90+ students) with four different instructors all implementing high impact practices in their classrooms. This was the first Community Engaged classes offered at Wingate University by instructors who had taken the SLCE Workshop I created. This was such a treat to see and support, and I look forward to a summer of data analysis and scholarly writing on what REL 140 students have reported since Fall 2022.
  
  
• Continuing my Community Engaged version of Adult and Aging Psychology in which students interview seniors in the community and create oral history projects documenting their lives. Then they connect what they have learned from these rich histories to our theories and research on human aging. My favorite part is reading about all of the amazing people that our students get to know!

• Seeing the research being done in our SLCE Ethics class (GPS 310) come together. It is a long journey from taking my SLCE Fellowship, to implementation, data collection, data analysis, and finally writing the paper for scholarly publication. But this semester it came full circle and I am grateful for all the faculty, students, and community partners who played a part in this important work. A huge shout out to OT doctoral graduate student Sarah-Anne Hart who worked on this project doing the Qualitative data analysis. This paid internship helped her hone these mixed methods research skills and gain experience in qualitative coding, and in return she helped us to learn more about our students and our SLCE program. Another undergraduate intern, Lilianna Savannah Tulledge, also did data analysis and now she has flown the undergraduate coop and is a Pharmacy Student Ambassador LINK.

• Data collection from SLCE classes is important because it is how we determine how SLCE practices are supporting our student and community growth. The data are also useful for driving our institutional priorities. What we found so far in our Ethics course was amazing: Our quantitative data show that there was significant improvement in two areas: students' ability to utilize a variety of specific skills to address community issues (AKA civic skills) as well as 21st century skills that employers are really looking for (oral and written communication, critical thinking, ethical judgment, working effectively in teams, and the practical use and refinement of skills and knowledge). For a general education class in Religion to achieve this is quite remarkable. Our qualitative data showed even more in that students described that the course made them feel empowered to take on community issues and engage in actions to make our communities more equitable and just! Listen to our students speak for themselves:

Student B Speaking to skill acquisition: “This project has helped me develop my skills in communicating my thoughts with other group members while also helping me develop the skills to step back and listen. The project structure was such that no one person could physically do everything and that helped me learn how to trust other people.”

Student C Speaking to How to Make Change in the World: “These two qualities are important; it takes compassion to want to help someone, and it takes leadership to make it happen.”

Student D Speaking About Vocation and Purpose: "This project has also helped me to reassess what future I see for myself; I have always wanted to do work that benefits the world, and this project has given me a glimpse into what that may end up looking like"

As the summer is about to start we are looking toward the Fall and what we would like to achieve with the help of our many stakeholders and partners. Check out my list ...

• Continue to offer the SLCE Fellowship to help train faculty and support implementation of high impact SLCE courses. If there are WU Faculty members who are interested in this paid professional development, here is the application link for the Fall: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfR3EontYk6VbRuIMn-AN5RYON7mh763JLScaFY6SLP49GVbw/viewform
• Continue and improve evidence-based data collection: We would love to collect more community-based impact data and go more in-depth with the data we collect in class and at our many CCG events.
• We will be proposing a Community Engaged Service Learning Minor -- stay tuned for more exciting details. This means we need to work along side our amazing Registrar Office to create a way that SLCE courses will have markers so each student who graduates will have record for employers, graduate schools or their families that indicates what high impact courses they took while at Wingate University. This is a big undertaking but we dream BIG in the CCG.
• Continue to work with Campus stakeholders to improve SLCE Institutional Engagement -- more courses, more publications, more partnerships.
• Work with our future CCG Communication Coordinator (we are so excited to grow our CCG team) to create communicate networks and systems for students to be more engaged in SLCE work

The rain could not wash away our enthusiasm for service on and off campus; we just danced through the drops and kept on shining. This year over 1300 Bulldogs had the pleasure of working with over 14 Community partners for 50+ events. The Power of We was felt all over eastern Union County with over 18 athletic teams, 10 RSOs, and more than 11 departments or programs participating.

Fun was had. Friendships Forged. A Community Served. We cannot wait until ODOD 2025 ...

Checkout these articles on ODOD:

• Bulldogs turn out in droves for One Day, One Dog, despite the iffy weather
  
• Seeds of service planted during University’s annual One Day, One Dog on April 11
  

Want to join in? Email ccg@wingate.edu and we will send you our ODOD 2025 Community Partner Service Form to fill out

Nationally thousands of college students struggle with food insecurity. The 2019-20 National Post-Secondary Student Aid Study indicated that approximately 4 million (22.6%) undergraduates experience low or very low food security, and 12% of graduate students also experience this hunger. There are many reasons for their insecurity: the soaring cost of school leaves them short of money, lack of access due to practice or class schedules, huge calorie demand for some sports, culturally unfamiliar foods, family responsibilities, lack of transportation, residing in a food desert, and lack of the ability to cook. Our most recent Bulldog poll shows (one year after the start of Wingate University Paw Provisions or WUPP) that our many efforts to address food insecurity have made a difference because we saw a decrease of reported food insecurity from 33% to 25%. There is still much work to do but thanks to the Power of We, Bulldogs are less hungry. Check out Kelli and Football Coach Mike Long above feeding bodies and lifting spirits for our Wednesday Mid-Week Re-Fuel snack program.

This past year we have had over $63,631.07 of in-kind donations for our WUPP Free Store and Snack Program. WUPP opened 55 times (adding a second day in the Spring 2024) and served over 2770+ students. Our snack program gives grab and go snacks to approximately 50-75 staff, faculty, students every Wednesday -- and our favorite part is the opportunity to say "Way to go ... you made it to Wednesday -- keep it up. You are doing great!" ... and the smiles. Knowing you are cared about can change someone's day.

Our biggest supporter is Heart for Monroe and the many churches, youth groups, and non-profits they have under their wings. A huge shout out goes to one of our newest partners, Food for Families of Indian Trail, who has donated the lion share of the food that fed the over 2700+ students and staff who visited Paw Provisions and our snack table since August 2023. But we are also grateful for each and every donation made by individuals on and off campus ... sometimes one bag of food at a time ... who want to invest in Wingate students so they can go and change the world. Thank you!

We could not run Paw Provisions without these superstars!

• For our WUPP Managers Manoel Filipe Silva and Olivia Payne who put the super in superstar -- and Kelly Dunlap (and her fabulous twin Erica) who has been such a shining star in our Free Store (and Closet) this semester.
• Prof Sarratt and the REL 140 11am classes who without fail unloaded the Food for Families Truck most Tuesday and inventoried the food donated. He was also the Captain of ODOD Cooking for Good and completely nailed it! Love made delicious
• Volunteers from campus and the other REL 140 classes who showed up at other times to unload trucks of food for the Free Store
• Dr. Daina Nathaniel for setting up a Satellite Snack Station in the Communication Department in the Neu Building
• For Alex and Erin -- our Success Coaches -- who constantly stock their Satellite Snack Station in the EK Smith Library
• For Ginger Walle and her team whose joy at delivering food and engaging with our Bulldogs never abates. We are so grateful!
• For CCG Admin Kelli Wiles who makes Wednesday Snack Day super fun

In December 2023 the Career Closet founded by the WU Career Services team was re-homed at WU Paw Provisions (WUPP) to help students have a central hub to find the resources they need to be successful. Thanks to the leadership of Career Services and their team of volunteers, the Career Closet moved across campus and opened its doors for the start of Spring semester 2024. Since opening, the Career Closet has been open at the same time as WUPP (Monday 4:30-7; Tuesday 4-7pm) and often upon request thanks to the great WU Campus Safety Team! Thanks to the WUPP managers Manoel and Olivia, and intern Kelly (and her amazingly talented twin Erica), the Closet has run like a glove ... and been a great asset to many Bulldogs. We average over 100 students a week to WUPP and over half take time to check out the great donations in our Career Closet.

The majestic building at the corner of Elm and Main Street is often called by many names: the Mayor’s House, The Stewart House or the Braswell House. But in the eyes of many, it is not just a house with a long vibrant history; it represents a transformative force. In early December 2023 Dr. Brown and other stakeholders gathered to speak about how this house bridges the gap between our campus and the wider community, serving as a vibrant, welcoming space for dialogue, collaboration, and innovation. Since then, many have dreamed of this space as a place where diverse voices come together to shape the future, creating engaged stakeholders and trailblazers who will drive positive change within Wingate and beyond. The CCG will be the caretakers of this dream and The Community House will serve as the new home of the CCG. Our goal is to help make this house a catalyst for change, a nexus of possibility, and a testament to the power of ‘We’.

And the story of this house and the community it is rooted in will be narrated by Dr. Joseph Ellis of the Political Science department and Rich Carney, WU Special Collection Archivist. The many stories of Wingate -- past, present, and future -- will be captured by the artifacts on the walls of this house and the accompanying media that will tell its rich story. Come Fall 2024 all will be welcome to come listen and learn -- and maybe tell us your story. Stay tuned to the CCG's social media (or email ccg@wingate.edu) for more details about upcoming Open Houses and tours in the late summer

• Make a monetary donation to help our Kitchen Collective Initiative - Paws and Plates, Our Beauty and Grace Garden Project, or our Raise the Roof Fund. Email ccg@wingate.edu for more details
• Join our Pit Crew of lively volunteers tackling painting, gardening and other important tasks. Do what you can, when you can! Want to join in ... email the ccg@wingate.edu
• Connect with Kelli Wiles to find out more about how to book/ barter time for your community or campus group in The Community House (ccg@wingate.edu)
• Have a Story to tell about this house or the people who lived in it? Contact j.ellis@wingate.edu or ccg@wingate.edu.

• Donate gently used items to help us with our Wish List: small metal garden furniture sets, fabric for pillows and cushions, painting supplies, pillows for inside, bean bag chairs, outdoor umbrellas, floor and table lamps, plant pots (all sizes), lights for garden, tea cups and mugs, baking equipment