MSC FLI’s Annual Donation Drive Benefits Houston’s Burmese Refugee Community

For the past three years, MSC Freshman LeadershipInternational (FLI) has developed a relationship with Life Cycles, (or on facebook) a non-profit organization in Houston that helps refugees build new lives in the Bayou City. In previous years FLI members have conducted a bicycle drive, collecting used bicycles and bicycle parts, which they then delivered to Life Cycles founder Jeremy Howell. With the help of some of the members of the Burmese refugee community, Howell would repair the bicycles and distribute them to community members. 

The bikes are important, says Alex Heinze ’16, Assistant Director of FLI’s International Service and Outreach subcommittee, because the refugees would use the bikes to get them to and from work. “They can barely afford food, much less buying a car,” she says. When a member of the community receives a bicycle from Life Cycles, she says that means “either the kids can get to school or the parents can get to their jobs in a way that isn’t economically expensive.”  The refugees, Heinze says, “want to be successful, and they want to support their families. They’re using these bikes to support themselves.”

Heinze says that as a freshman last year she was moved by the refugees’ stories of the persecution and violence they had left behind. For example, she recounts the trials of Kai, a Burmese refugee that Howell and his wife, Laurie Stone-Howell, who Heinze says is really “the soul of Life Cycles,” adopted.  She says that Kai and his brother had been forced to join the national army as pre-teens. When Kai and his brother escaped the army and returned to their village, the villagers expelled them out of fear of retribution from the army if they took the two boys in.

Learn About Careers in Public Service at Aggie Vision

Students interested in making a career out of public and community service—or just have a strong passion for and want to learn more about community service—have a great opportunity to learn about the non-profit industry at MSC LEAD’s inaugural Aggie Vision program on Saturday, April 26^th.

According the Jessica Lochte, Community Service Director with MSC LEAD, the purpose of the program is to give students the chance to listen to speakers who are already leaders in the non-profit industry and then give them a chance to spend an afternoon working with and learning about a specific non-profit organization.

Lochte says that the day will begin with a free breakfast and a presentation by Gabriella Medina, who is the Executive Chairwoman of the George Bush School Public Service Organization. After the speaker, program attendees will travel to a local non-profit where they will be able to meet with staff members there, learn about the non-profit’s mission, and contribute service to the organization.
Participating non-profits include:

• Adopt a Senior
• ChildreNinos
• Keep Brazos Beautiful
• Population Media Center
• Prison Entrepreneurship Program
• Project Unity
• Single Moms Create 4 Change
• Twin City Mission
• Voices for Children CASA

The program is free but advance registration is necessary. The deadline for registration is April 18. Student interested in participating should visit the Aggie Vision web site for more details.

Kyle Field Day Brings Service and Fun to Blue Bell Park!

“Lend a Hand, Make Your Mark!” That’s the motto for MSC FISH’s Kyle Field Day, an event that gives students the chance to give back to the community at the same time they’re enjoying a day out in the fresh spring air. The fourth edition of Kyle Field Day, which will take place this Sunday, April 13 from noon-4pm, will be a little bit different than past editions because the event’s namesake is currently undergoing a massive renovation. As a result, Blue Bell Park will be the temporary home for Kyle Field Day 2014.

In addition to the new location this year’s event will be bigger than it has ever been with over forty campus and community organizations hosting service and awareness booths.  According to Brittany Witt, a Kyle Field Day organizer with MSC FISH, SAS has donated 200 pairs of shoes, which will be decorated and distributed in Mexico “in areas where shoes are a rare commodity.”  

According to Katy King, advisor for MSC FISH, attendees are also encouraged to bring canned foods to Kyle Field Day. “We typically collect over 700 pounds of food,” she says, adding that “this year we have made plans to donate what we collect to the 12th Can,” the organization that operates a food bank for needy students, staff, and faculty here at Texas A&M University.  

Other organizations at Kyle Field Day will provide information about and opportunities to serve in the areas of global outreach, animal abuse prevention, youth outreach, environmental preservation, and disabilities and special needs.

The day’s activities will also include games, food, and entertainment.  To learn more visit MSC FISH’s web site, their Facebook page, or follow them on Twitter. We’ve also posted some photos on our flickr page and a video on our YouTube page.