Anchor Lead- Interfaith gatherings are happening more and more at Kent State University. The kind of project that has not happened recently is community service projects. Those types of events have not happened in about 4 years. The first service project in four years involved hygiene kits and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the less fortunate in Portage County. Reporter Andy Mark has the story on this long overdue community service.

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Just a couple days ago on Saturday March 14 students from the Muslim Student Association, United Christian Ministries, and the Catholic Student Association joined together for an interfaith community service project at the University Parish Newman Center. Students put together hygiene kits and made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the underprivileged in Portage County. Rami Kalash is the President of the Muslim Student Association, and part of the two-person team who put the project together. Rami believes it is very important to help out local communities.

“Doing activities that are rooted in the different religious faiths, like helping the needy, community service. Hopefully people will be able to benefit from this.”

I’m here at the interfaith community service project here inside the Newman Center. Where just behind me students just finished making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, for the underprivileged here in Portage County.

Jack Veatch is a student intern for United Christian Ministries, and the other part of the two-person team who set up the project. Jack is very passionate about community service and very grateful for what he has. Jack will be in a volunteer program for a whole year starting in 2016.

“It means a lot to me, to be able to not only like help people who are sometimes underserved or unrecognized by the community. It’s a blessing every day to be able to wake up in a bed and to be able to go to my kitchen and make breakfast.”

Students made 40 hygiene kits and 68 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The sandwiches and hygiene kits will be given to Kent Social Services.

For TV2 KSU, I’m Andy Mark.