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>>MICHAEL ATKINS: Community service has always played a huge
role in my life. And it’s just something I’m very passionate about. I feel like if
you have the opportunity and you have the time, you should really give something of
yourself to other people. My name is Michael Atkins. I am a sophomore
at NC State University, and I’m a member of the Thomas Jefferson Scholars program.
I’m currently an applied sociology major and a political science with a concentration
in law and theory major. I have aspirations to actually be elected
president of the United States in the year 2028.
This past year I was appointed by Gov. Beverly Perdue to the Commission on Volunteerism and
Community Service for North Carolina. I am the youngest appointee at 19 years old.
And I’m hoping that through my position I can inspire people my age – younger and
older – to get involved in community service. The Thomas Jefferson Scholars program does
community service throughout the school year, but we’ve never had an annual community
service project that’s been something that’s been a regular thing that has happened every
year, and so I talked with some of the academic advisers for the Thomas Jefferson Scholars
program, and they thought it would be a great idea to bring the Warming Tree Project to
NC State as an annual project. It was a project that my sister and I started
probably six years ago. We put up Christmas trees in local businesses,
schools and other organizations and then we put signs up around the Christmas trees asking
people to donate gloves, hats, scarves, mittens, basically warm clothing items that are either
new or gently used. And then we take them to places such as the soup kitchen, the battered
women’s shelter and social services. The money from the grant will go toward buying
the actual Christmas trees and getting signs and advertising so that people can actually
find out about it. Doing the Warming Tree Project I have had
a lot of really great experiences with the people that I’ve donated the items to because
my sister and I actually give the items to the people themselves that need them.
And there was actually one time when we were at the soup kitchen, and the director of the
soup kitchen had pointed out a man who was basically desperately in need.
I went up to him, and I handed him a pair of gloves, and a pair of socks and actually
a coat. And before I could walk off, he handed me
the gloves back. And he said, ‘I already have a pair of these. Give some to someone
who really needs them.’ And for someone who has so little and for
someone who has been pointed out to you as being someone who truly is in need to give
something back to you is just incredible. And I feel like if people who have so little
can give back, then we who live comfortably and are able to get an education -- we have
the time, and we have the resources, and we should really make use of those and give back
to our community.