Scrubbing walls and washing windows isnÕt part of most employee trainingÉunless youÕre part of the residence life senior staff at UK.

SOT  (Tony Ralph): ÒWe want to emphasize to them that theyÕre servant-leaders, so we put them in the role of being of service in the community as we begin, this is our first day of training.Ó

TheyÕre sprucing up the Hope Center, a shelter that serves LexingtonÕs homeless. 

SOT (Sirlivia Cook): ÒI think thereÕs a great need.  The Hope Center gives them a place of hope, you know, if you will to kind of say, you know, ÔIÕm important,Õ to find out who they are, and how they can function in society. So coming here and wiping walls is nothing, a little bit of sweat never hurt anybody.Ó 

The day isnÕt just about the work, but the connections they make with those without a place to call home.

SOT (Bridget Smith): ÒOne of the men that I was talking with wants to be a lawyer, heÕs working on his degree right now and the Hope Center is helping him do that and so he and I talked a little bit about degrees and what it means to be in class and I really felt like I made a great connection with him.Ó

SOT (Ralph): ÒI love the staff weÕve hired because they really sincerely care about the community and folks here seeing that others care may be meaningful to them, as theyÕre not alone.Ó  

SOT (Smith): ÒI want to be someone that can engage with them and see them as someone more than just a person thatÕs homeless and I think for them I think itÕs fun to talk to us and see us as individuals who come out and volunteer, they know that someone cares.Ó

The hope is that this act of service wonÕt stop with these staff members.

SOT (Ralph): ÒWe ask the r.a.Õs to do this with their students, take their students on community service trips so in a way weÕre role modeling what weÕd like them to do.Ó

SOT (Smith): ÒOne of my main roles is leadership and so I feel itÕs really necessary to role model those skills for my students and of course I love coming out into my community and helping out in whatever way I can so that my students see that I do that so hopefully in the future they will want to role model that behavior themselves.Ó

They also hope to pass on the lessons theyÕve learned hereÉ

SOT (Cook): ÒJust because you have a college education doesnÕt mean that your life is going to go smooth.  This could be me, you know I could need the Hope Center, they could need the Hope Center, you know, not to take life for granted.Ó

SOT (Smith): ÒI donÕt know where IÕm going to be in 10 years, I very well might be at The Hope Center so thatÕs always going to be in the back of my mind and what keeps me going towards helping those around me.Ó

 Help thatÕs part of UKÕs overall missionÉ

SOT (Cook): ÒComing out here and helping with the Hope Center really shows that we not only have an investment at UK, but in our community as well because UK is a huge part of the Lexington community.Ó

SOT (Ralph): ÒUK has that as an overall goal to connect with Kentucky and to be of service and we want to emphasize that to our staff and students that they are not only learning in the classroom but that they are going to be learning by serving the community as well.Ó 

Éservice that these staff members are happy to be a part ofÉFor UK Now, IÕm Amy Jones.

				######