M Partner Community Day of Service
October 13, 2018, 8 a.m.
Student Union Ballroom
This turnout is amazing! It’s so inspiring to see such enthusiastic volunteers this morning. I know it’s an early start for a weekend, but we commend you for giving your time and energy to serving our M Partner communities of Charleston, Lexington, and New Albany. It’s so rewarding to see this army of students ready to mobilize and embrace this wonderful opportunity to serve. You embody our university’s commitment to community engagement in action.
Let me take a moment to thank a few people here today.
- Katrina Caldwell: Thank you for your tremendous leadership and work over the last year in getting M Partner launched.
- Laura Martin: Congrats on a great job establishing a framework to get our M Partner efforts up and running so that we can cultivate mutually beneficial and collaborative partnerships.
- Michaela Cooper: Fantastic job of coordinating all the details and logistics for today.
- Jarvis Benson: So glad you are joining us today to share a few words about your experience serving as a VISTA Summer Associate in New Albany.
I’m so excited about the experiences you will gain, as well as the measurable impact this event will have upon our M Partner communities. When we first envisioned M Partner in 2016, I challenged our university to “imagine what we can do if we channel the talents of our university — our entire university — to partner with towns and cities — one at a time — to enhance every aspect of community life!” All of you here have transformed that vision into a tangible, living, breathing effort that will begin to make a difference in so many communities.
Now, the momentum around M Partner is building. You can see it and feel it — right here, right now — with this Community Day of Service and all of you here. This day is a campus-wide effort designed to fulfill our responsibility to promote healthy and vibrant communities in Mississippi. It’s a foundational pillar and priority of our strategic plan, Flagship Forward. And the university is committed to addressing community challenges and opportunities creatively and collaboratively — it must be a two-way street.
Thank you again for your commitment and your passion for service. Today is just the beginning of all we will accomplish with this tremendous M Partner initiative. Go out today with the knowledge that you are impacting the lives of so many fellow Mississippians — and yours as well! Have fun today and be sure to stay connected with all our M Partner efforts going forward
