East Central University students from Pi Sigma Alpha, the Legal Professionals Association and a class on government and political science research methods will celebrate Global Youth Service Day from 3 to 5 p.m. April 15 [FRIDAY] during Olympic HEROES at the Boys and Girls Club of Ada.
Youngsters at the club and friends will enjoy a healthy snack, Olympic-like fun and the presentation of sporting goods to the club. Parents, community members and volunteers are invited.
![Marissa Sternberg, a student at East Central University, serves healthy snacks to children at the Boys and Girls Club of Ada. She and more than 40 ECU students participated in Olympic HEROES, a service learning project that taught youngsters the benefits of healthy nutrition and physical well-being. They will celebrate Global Youth Service Day from 3 to 5 p.m. April 15 [FRIDAY] during Olympic HEROES. Parents and the community are invited.](https://www1.ecok.edu/SiteContent/1/images/news/OlympicHeroes.jpg)
Marissa Sternberg, a student at East Central University, serves healthy snacks to children at the Boys and Girls Club of Ada. She and more than 40 ECU students participated in Olympic HEROES, a service learning project that taught youngsters the benefits of healthy nutrition and physical well-being. They will celebrate Global Youth Service Day from 3 to 5 p.m. April 15 [FRIDAY] during Olympic HEROES. Parents and the community are invited.
Olympic HEROES is the ECU students’ service learning project and is supported by a $500 UnitedHealth HEROES Grant, which purchased the sports equipment as well as medals for participating youngsters, and an additional $300 donation from Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science honor society at ECU, which was used to purchase healthy snacks such as oranges, grapes, bananas, carrot sticks, raisins and ginger snaps.
Olympic HEROES was a four-month program based on the Olympic Games in which students learned about the benefits of healthy nutrition and physical well-being through lessons on the achievements of Olympians Jesse Owens, Shannon Miller, Nadia Comaneci and Jim Thorpe. The goal of the program was to leave a lasting impact on both the knowledge and the material needs of students at the Boys and Girls Club of Ada.
Noelle Hurt, project director of the Olympic HEROES Program, believes the goal of the project was met in a fun and friendly way.
“I would really like to thank all of those who helped out during the process of the project,” she said. “From the grants and donations received from both national and local organizations to the volunteer hours put in by service learning students and Dr. (Christine) Pappas, Olympic HEROES was shaped into a successful program. A special thanks goes out to the staff of the Ada Boys and Girls Club who are always very helpful and hospitable, too.
Hurt obtained the grant and designed the Olympic HEROES program in partial fulfillment of her NASA Scholarship opportunities. The program has served approximately 90 children each month, and more than 40 ECU students have participated in the service learning project.
Contact Hurt at 320-6049 or Pappas at 559-5640 for more information.
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