Community Service, Giving Thanks and Showing UNH Pride are all part of the Upcoming 'Month of Believing'

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

 

In the next several weeks, UNH students will be picking up trash on Portsmouth's Peirce Island, helping to ready Dover's Woodman Museum for renovations, canvassing for donations for Waysmeet Cornucopia's November food baskets, writing thank you notes to their parents, teachers and university supporters for making their UNH education possible and performing multiple random acts of kindness.

These types of events are part of everyday life for those within the UNH community. But for the next few weeks, the university is boasting about them a bit more, to show those beyond the Durham, Manchester and Concord campuses all the great things happening at UNH.

"You can draw a common thread through all of these efforts: They are things that have a real impact in our communities," says Misty McCarty, associate vice president of advancement services. "We're joining with campus partners like Residential Life, alumni network liaisons and MUB administrators to shine an even brighter spotlight on all the ways that UNH matters to current students, faculty, staff and our alumni around the globe."

Dubbed the Month of Believing by campus organizers, the five weeks of events fall under four major themes: service, giving thanks, caring and pride in the university.

First up on the lineup is UNH Serves, a weeklong effort to encourage community service. Students will spend Veterans Day working with 30 different organizations and individuals throughout the Seacoast and the greater Manchester area. Greek organizations and faculty and staff members will repeat the service days throughout the week with their own volunteer efforts.

This year, alumni networks from coast to coast will be taking part in the community service as well, sharing photos and posts on UNH's alumni social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. You can follow along with all of the events on the university's social media channels, using the #ibelieveinunh hashtag.

There will be special events at upcoming athletic events such as the Nov. 15 football game against Delaware and the Dec. 12 men's hockey game against UMaine.

Later this month, students will be giving thanks — they'll write short notes to donors and volunteers and others they feel have been integral to their collegiate success. They'll even be taking their thanks online, with a photobooth in the MUB where they can snap a photo with their words of gratitude.

The events continue in early December, when community members will be able to step up to a megaphone at different campus locations and holler out something nice to passersby. Curious about how it works? Check out the inspiration here.

Also in December, students may find themselves on the receiving end of a random act of kindness or two — in class, in the dining hall or just walking across campus — and will be encouraged to 'pay it forward' and do something kind for someone else.

"There are so many positive things happening now through mid-December that fall under this whole idea of belief in our university. These are the reasons that so many people have adopted 'I believe in UNH' as a personal motto — they believe in the great works that UNH is doing locally as well as the positive effect that UNH alums have not only in New Hampshire but also nationally and globally," says Debbie Dutton, vice president of advancement at UNH.