January 13, 2011: Every year on Martin Luther King Day, Belhaven University takes a break from the regular schedule of classes to live out the schools motto "To Serve Not To Be Served." This annual event begins with students eating breakfast together and then being split into service teams. Students will be all over the Jackson Metro area at places like Goodwill, John Perkins Foundation, Mission Mississippi, Mustard Seed, and Stewpot. The teams will be tackling many different types of projects like painting, cleaning, outside work, organizing, sorting and folding clothes, construction, maintenance, pulling up carpet, and taking apart bleachers.
"It is our hope that students will come to know the power of serving and model the example that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave us," says Jo Beth Petty, Director of Student Leadership. "It is through serving that we take our eyes off ourselves and are reminded of the sacrifice and love Christ has for us! Another fruit of the campus-wide service day is the connections that are created as we serve alongside fellow students, staff, and faculty."
Belhaven University, formerly Belhaven College, prepares men and women academically and spiritually to serve Christ Jesus in their careers, in human relationships, and in the world of ideas. Founded in 1883, the University now serves over 3,000 students from campuses in Jackson, Memphis, Orlando, Houston, Chattanooga, Atlanta, and online.