MC Seeks to Help Local Inmates with Reads and Needs Drive
"I hope the students who get involved are able to realize the different aspects of life and different upbringings that lead us in different directions in life."
As the holiday season approaches, students at Mississippi College are encouraged to step into a servant role with various volunteering and donation opportunities on campus.
Through the end of November and beginning of December, the MC Multicultural Student Association and MC’s Foundations of Servant Leadership class are collecting donations for the inmates at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility.
Aaliyah Newsome, a senior at Mississippi College, is heading a donation drive called Reads and Needs. Newsome, alongside the Servant Leadership class, will collect donations up to December 6, and then they will pack the bags the following days. They are hoping to get at least 400 bags, 200 for the women and 200 for the men.
Newsome had the idea to create this donation opportunity and quickly tried to find a way to fulfill these vital needs for the inmates. “We get the opportunity to provide reading material and also toiletries for inmates that may not have family willing to buy or the ability to buy,” Newsome said. “We go to the store to get deodorant but they don’t necessarily have easy access to basic necessities of life.” One donation, whether it be a book, deodorant, or a toothbrush, could impact someone's day to day life.
Dylan Robertson, also a senior at Mississippi College, has been involved in this donation drive. He is taking the Foundations of Servant Leadership class this semester and shares his hope for the drive.
“The impact I hope it makes is to understand that even in a time where we are surrounded by family, we can appreciate those that are hurting and don’t have family to spend this time with,” said Robertson.
The inmates are all going through very different situations than the students here on Mississippi College’s campus. The idea that students get to show these inmates love through a simple bar of soap or a book is special. Donating books and toiletries seems like an easy thing for students to get or give up but for these inmates at the correctional facility, this may be all they get for the holidays.
Newsome hopes that this donation drive will not only open the eyes of the inmates but also the students who are donating. “I hope the students who get involved are able to realize the different aspects of life and different upbringings that lead us in different directions in life,” Newsome said. “I hope this makes the students on this campus more aware of the less fortunate and open their eyes to the needs of others.”