Service with a benevolent heart

CLEVELAND, Tenn. – At Lee, students are required to complete 80 service hours throughout their program. While the requirement is well known throughout the campus, many students have a variety of questions surrounding the topic, such as how to get hours approved, what opportunities are available, and even, why is this something the university requires of students to graduate. 

William Lamb, the director of the Leonard Center, sat down with Lee Clarion to answer these questions.

Lamb remembers Dr. Paul Conn’s charging statement at the opening of the Leonard Center in 2003: “Universities require what’s important to them, and we are compassionate, caring, benevolent people who extended a cup of water in Jesus name.” 

This simple mantra encapsulates how Lamb wants students to understand the purpose of the requirement. “I’d love for us to get to the place where we know we don't look at it as a graduation requirement, but we look at it as an opportunity of investment in the life of someone else,” Lamb said.

“It’s obviously about serving the other person. What are we doing for other people to make an impact? When we become busy and preoccupied with all of our busy agendas and we're trying to get check marks… service learning is one of those, right? I really want students to look at it from a different perspective. I want them to look at it as the opportunity to make an investment in someone else's life, and the way we do that is connecting people with meaningful moments.” Lamb said.

The Leonard Center is partnered with over 100 different organizations throughout Cleveland and Bradley County where students can begin to invest their time to earn their hours and serve their community.

LeeUServes.com has the complete list of all the current partners for students who are looking for hours without prior approval and within walking distance of campus. This list can also be found in Portico under service learning.

If a student is looking at service opportunities outside of the provided list, they should complete the prior approval request form through the Leonard Center. In every student's Moodle, there is a “Leonard Center Service-Learning” class page that contains all the documents a student needs to earn service hours. Under this page you will find the prior approval request template, as well as instructions on how to complete the three different reflection types for each act of service completed, and even the drop boxes to submit all your reflections.

There is one deadline for service hours each semester. All service completed from April 1 to October 31 must have the reflection submitted by November 1, and any hours completed from November 1 to March 31 must be submitted by April 1 to receive the credit for them, otherwise those hours are lost and cannot be redeemed within the system. 

The Leonard Center is open year round, Monday through Fridays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., so they are happy to look over service requests during breaks for students who want to take advantage of their down time at home. The Leonard Center is available throughout the school year for students to drop by with any and all questions they may have as well.

The Leonard Center is located at 1700 Parker Street, Cleveland, TN 37320, and they can be reached at (423) 614-8614. For more information on service learning, visit https://www.leeuniversity.edu/service-learning/.