Committed to Caring for Nokomis

Dec 16, 2010

nokomis

Concordia freshmen ate frosted graham crackers and hugged Santa Claus with preschoolers from Nokomis Child Care Center  to celebrate their semester-long partnership.

The project began when Lisa Sjoberg’s Inquiry Oral Communication class volunteered to play with the kids at Nokomis as part of New Student Orientation. When they heard about some of the homes the children come from, they became instant advocates for the little boys and girls.

“Some of the parents are single parents, some parents have no jobs,” says Madeline Gray ’14, St. Cloud, Minn. “It’s harsh, and these tiny little people did nothing to deserve less than the best treatment.”

Gray and her classmates decided to dedicate their semester to Nokomis with various projects. They helped the library with its annual Pay-It-Forward campaign, raising more than $1,000 for the organization. They collected supplies for the classrooms, organized Halloween and Christmas parties for the children, created an awareness advertisement, and helped with painting and cleaning. 

Seven of the students, including Gray, volunteer at the center outside of class through the Campus Service Commission.

The project has benefited the Cobbers as well. In addition to honing their communication and leadership skills, the freshmen have learned the impact of giving back and being involved in the community.

“Working on this group project not only made me a better leader," says Blaire Lindberg ’14, Breckenridge, Minn. “It also made me a better person.”




Information For:

current students
faculty and staff		 parents
alumni		 high school students
admitted students