Nearby community receives bevy of help from campus groups

Debbye Field and her husband own Grassy Ridge Farms in Noxen, where they sell their bushels of apples, pumpkins, gourds and homemade jams at their wooden stand near the entrance to town. The couple's home, which is set high upon a hill escaped recent flooding--but their farmland didn't fare as well.

"Some of the crops were affected by just too much water. The pumpkins aren't keeping as well. We didn't have quite as many of them," she said. She reported her brother-in-law, who owns a pumpkin patch on the same road, is also experiencing losses. "Their strawberry fields got flooded. The bridge got clogged up with trees and water just spilled out over into the town and through his fields."

The Field's farmers market is a landmark where surrounding community members witnessed the devastation from the flooding, but they also understand more obstacles lay beneath the flood debris. A deficit of jobs and rise in poverty has plagued Noxen for generations, and people are just beginning to address the underlying problems in order to bring peace of mind to the wounded community.

MU students visited Noxen to help clean 20 homes and two churches post-flooding, according to Kristin Samuels, Community Outreach Coordinator. But the group from campus originally planned their visit to complete other tasks, before Mother Nature changed the priority.

Samuels, along with senior social work major Chelsea Mixon, created a series of programs to help grow social services in Noxen, as well as add some that the community didn't already have in place, but massive flood clean up put the programs on hold. Now the town is back on its feet, and along with the help of other MU students Mixon is able to implement the services she developed for her social work internship.

The small community 10 miles away from Dallas is finally recovering from the effects of flooding, but is still submerged in poverty that consumes the town. With household income averaging $35,000 a year, Noxen struggles to keep afloat during the hard economic times. Samuels says that Campus Ministry and the other organizations involved hope to break down exaggerated stereotypes and lend a hand to the neighboring community.

The town of Noxen is currently undergoing a renovation and is coordinating with MU in its efforts to pull through. SISPA, Community Fellows and other organizations at MU have united to aid the town's food pantry, clothing closet and library. Community Fellows has also established an afterschool tutoring and mentoring program for children. AmeriCorps Community Fellows Sarah Munley and Alina Busch began the tutoring and mentoring program at Lake Noxen Elementary School on October 24. Twice a week, MU student volunteers spend almost two hours after school with a group of children at the elementary school working on homework, developing good study habits and mentoring the third through sixth graders.

According to Mixon there is a general lack of interest in education in the area, something they are trying to eradicate beginning with the group of young students involved in the tutoring program. "A lot of the kids are not interested in school, they are not engaged and a lot of kids don't even come to school. So we want to have this program to get kids excited about being there," said Mixon.

She noted that the most dangerous time for young children is between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m., especially if their parents or guardians work late. The mentoring and tutoring program provides the kids with a safe environment in addition to encouraging their study habits and building self-confidence, a long-term goal for the program.

Munley, a junior education major, feels that she has the opportunity to really influence the children she is mentoring and has high hopes for the results of the program. "I think they're so impressionable at that age. The kids are just so willing to learn and willing to take in everything you give them," she said. "And they have so much potential, and it takes that one person in their life to have them see that they can reach that potential." Munley would ideally like to have the children work one-on-one with mentors and said the program is looking for additional volunteers for the current and future semesters. She and Busch are developing a curriculum for the future weeks, providing the children with practical information like safety awareness and "stranger danger."

After the kids' "homework help" hour, they are given an opportunity for guided journal entries. The mentors write notes back to the kids, exchanging positive reinforcement that Munley feels will be key to their ultimate success.

The Noxen Historical Community Center, an old green and white building reminiscent of a farmhouse, is home to the Schenck Memorial Library. According to Samuels, the library is far behind in terms of technology, with not a single computer. The MU information technology department is donating six computers to the library and will hold workshops to promote computer literacy, teaching any residents who wish to learn how to use the technology.

While there are many reading groups and programs designed for children, Mixon says there is disconnect between the kids in the town and the available activities. "The woman who runs it has just exhausted all efforts to try to do things like this. And the kids just won't come. She needs some other people to come in and help with it, because she is running out of ideas," said Mixon.