Great Stories
Montana Campus Corps:
College Students Meeting Critical Community Needs
A Willingness to Give by Kahli Gerken

I joined Campus Corps for the duration of my student teaching at a local elementary school in Butte, Montana. It has been incredibly beneficial to me because I am required to student teach for so many days in order to receive my degree and due to the fact that I do not receive compensation for my time spent at the school, it can be considered volunteer work. Campus Corps takes these hours spent at the school and in turn pays a portion of my student loans. I am so grateful to have gained the experience that I have while working alongside my amazing supervising teacher as well as the financial help from Campus Corps.

Another thing that was so great about being involved with Campus Corps was the service project that I was required to complete. I decided to have my third grade students and the other third grade classroom bring in unused or unwanted clothing and toys to the school. I spoke on the importance of giving to people in need and recognizing that we don’t always need the things that we have because we tend to just have so much STUFF. There was a large bin set outside of my classroom on Monday morning and by Friday afternoon there were bags of clothes stacked two feet above the bin. The response was incredible and it was so encouraging to see the students get so excited about giving!

That Friday we took the clothes and toys to the Butte Rescue Mission and donated it to their program. The workers and volunteers there were literally ecstatic about receiving so many items from young students! I was particularly proud of my students and their willingness to participate in the service project, their compassion for the needy, and their recognition that they really do not need all that they have been blessed with.


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