CLARKSVILLE, TN – Austin Peay State University’s fourth annual Peayple in the Community kicked off the semester with a commitment to making a difference, as more than 1,300 campus volunteers contributed 3,105 service hours across Clarksville and the surrounding area.
Alexandra Wills, Austin Peay’s director for Community Engagement and Sustainability (CES), coordinated the volunteers as they worked to assist 33 nonprofits. From caring for adoptable animals and supporting social services to donating blood for local hospitals, their efforts created a wide-ranging impact.
“I think one of the best ways to understand Austin Peay is to see our people in action,” APSU President Mike Licari said. “Students, faculty, and staff were out in the community lending a hand, working with partners and giving back to the place they call home. I’m especially proud that, for many of our students, this is one of their first experiences as a member of the Austin Peay family. They’re learning from the very beginning that being a Gov means showing up, taking responsibility, and leaving a positive mark wherever you can.”
Those values come naturally to Brayden Cotterman, a freshman computer science major who arrived at APSU with experience as a volunteer for the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library.
“I’m an extrovert to my core, so I love meeting and talking to as many people as possible,” he said. “Having a day to volunteer is always nice, and you get a lot more out of it than you might think.”
Cotterman helped organize donations to the Woodward Library and Phi Kappa Phi for Candy for the Mind, which distributes free books to trick-or-treaters during APSU’s annual G.H.O.S.T. event.
“We have everything from board books for the littlest readers to young adult novels,” said Christina Chester-Fangman, APSU’s interim director of library services. “There are thousands of books to go through, so it’s very important to have help. At the end of the day, it’s all about helping children develop a lifelong love of reading.”
In addition to literacy, volunteers promoted sustainability by building filters for people without access to clean water. The effort was a partnership between CES, the College of STEM, and the nonprofit Wine to Water.
“College really opens you up to real-world issues, and this is one I think some people are afraid to acknowledge,” said Kayla Miller-Zapata, APSU’s sustainability coordinator and the project facilitator. “To [be able to] openly talk about it and encourage people to help an organization that makes filtration systems … I think it really opens students’ eyes.”
Miller-Zapata said the project also let students build exposure to and interest in hydrology. Thanks to the number of partners, volunteers from across campus were able to choose sites that matched their passions and goals.
“I was very excited that there was an option to go to the animal shelter,” said Emmy McKiness, a sophomore veterinary technology major. “Knowing more about how the shelter works, what they have to do day-to-day, and seeing the reality of what it’s like working here has been a great experience.”
McKiness was among several volunteers who spent their day with Montgomery County Animal Care and Control, gaining real-world experience with proper cleaning and animal enrichment. Upper-division vet tech students also assisted with operations in the shelter clinic.
Volunteers left a similar impact on the Salvation Army by cleaning and reorganizing the thrift store’s outdoor donation area. Rob Williams, director of operations for the Salvation Army’s Clarksville Corps, said the thrift store has issued roughly $18,000 in vouchers for clothing and furniture over the last six weeks to help families in need.
Proceeds generated through the thrift store also fund the Salvation Army’s community outreach and social service operations, and APSU’s help allowed the organization to move quality items into the store more quickly.
Dr. Tasha Ruffin, an associate professor in the School of Nursing who coordinated a donation drive with Blood Assurance, was equally impressed with how students showed up to participate. Over 70 people signed up to give blood throughout the day, and APSU nursing students worked alongside Blood Assurance employees to keep things running smoothly.
“Blood Assurance provides almost 80-90% of the blood supply for the local hospitals,” Ruffin said, adding that the U.S. is currently facing a blood supply crisis. “To see young adults coming out for the cause, it is really awesome that they’re thinking about the community and their peers.”