impacting freshmen through • serv1ce I mpact was a crucial time for introducing freshmen to Harding and showing them the heart of the university. The Impact theme was one of the many ways to set the tone for the upcoming year. "Reclaimed," the 2012 theme, was manifested in Harding's partnership with the Reclaimed organization, which repurposed items that seemed useless or outdated. Directors seniors Molly Shoaf and Aaron McGaughy, partnered with Sydney Clyde, a 2011 Harding alumna and founder of Reclaimed, to promote the organization and contribute to the cause. Monique Jacques, a 2011 alumna and promotional worker for Reclaimed, said that it was a business that instilled and recognized the value of people in the United States and abroad. The business took donated items and turned them into something marketable. Reclaimed provided struggling women the opportunity to work and to be empowered while they learned new skills. "What we hope to do is to create a symbol for freedom for valuing people," Jacques said. Shoaf said she got involved by sharing information about the organization, going through her own clothes and donating T-shirts. "Every T-shirt bought and every T-shirt collected affects a life," Shoaf said. Shoaf and McGaughy chose the theme to ensure the students knew they could make a new start and "reclaim" their lives regardless of their past. The theme also served as a reminder to always help and encourage others. "We come to college thinking, 'God understands I am busy, so I don't have to do much,' but that's not the case," Shoaf said. "Having 'Reclaimed' as our theme means no one is off the hook, and it also means a fresh start." Working with Reclaimed changed the way service projects were led at Impact. Instead of breaking into smaller groups for various projects in the community, everyone came together to sort and to box T-shirts for shipment to the Reclaimed warehouse in Nicaragua. Freshman Caroline Reed said she enjoyed sorting T-shirts and getting to meet new people while working for a common cause. "It was cool to be like 'these are my new classmates, and we're already doing a service project together,"' Reed said. Through the work of Student Impact, more than 14,000 T-shirts were collected, and a check for more than $2,000 was presented to Hope Cottage, a women's shelter in Searcy. Savannah Lee "Impact was great because it was the best time for students to make new relationships. All the freshmen still had the 'freshman glow' after Impact," CAB Director Logan Light said. 18 I Student Life
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==