Oak Forest Student Participates In 'Everyone Doing More' Event

OAK FOREST, IL — An Oak Forest resident was among those who participated in an "Everyone Doing More" event put together by Culver-Stockton College in Missouri.

Ivan Valek of Oak Forest was one of more than 350 Culver-Stockton students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members who spent Saturday, Aug. 22 volunteering for the 11th annual Everyone Doing More event, according to a news release from Culver-Stockton College.

Valek was one of more than 250 freshmen who participated in the event, according to the release.

In years past, the event gave students the opportunity to go into the Canton community to perform service projects, according to the release. This year's activities were limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but organizers designed each activity for students to help other groups and organizations.

Some of the activities performed at the event include:

• Painting rocks for The Child Center, Inc., in Hannibal, Mo.
• Painting rocks and writing letters to kindergarten students in the Canton R-V School District.
• Labeling and packaging masks for the Canton R-V School District.
• Filling snack baskets and writing thank-you letters for first responders in Canton and on campus.

"Overall, I really think it went pretty well," said Amanda Sorenson, chaplain at Culver-Stockton and coordinator of the event, according to the release. "This was our first year doing it this way, and most of the groups had a good energy and got a lot done. A lot of the projects allowed for creativity and for them to have fun with it."

Culver-Stockton College, located in Canton, Mo., is a four-year residential institution in affiliation with the Christian Church, according to the release.

The release states that Sorenson said "Some projects will benefit the broader community, and we may continue to do some of them in future years. They were fun, they were engaging, and every student was busy."

For more information, visit the College's website.