Matie Community Service honours student volunteers

Matie student volunteers were honoured for their contributions to the community during the annual recognition function of Matie Community Service’s (MCS) One-Stop Service on Monday, 27 August.

MCS, one of the Community Interaction Flagship Projects of Stellenbosch University (SU) and also a HOPE Project initiative, provides for the needs of communities inside and outside Stellenbosch and has been a trusted service provider for 48 years. The One-Stop Service forms part of these services and leads student groups in providing sustainable, effective community service projects in partnership with established non-profit organisations. The One-Stop Service projects have different focuses and address issues such as educational assistance, life skills development, sport coaching, arts and culture and health promotion.

According to Ms Michelle Pietersen, Senior Project Manager of the One Stop Service, they currently have 1200 volunteers in the programme between the Tygerberg and Stellenbosch campuses, which benefit more than 3 000 people. There are also 48 registered student projects.

At Monday night’s function 74 students were honoured for completing the short course on “Leadership through community interaction”. The course was presented by MCS and the Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert (FVZS) Student Leadership Development Institute, also a HOPE Project initiative. A further 68 students were honoured for the hours they spent on volunteer work.

Dumisani Mahlangu, one of the students who were honoured, said his involvement in community projects has been beneficial to him. “In the past year I grew as a person and I’ve learnt other invaluable skills and attributes that any graduate would envy. I have learnt that with giving your time, you gain so much more. Volunteerism helps us to be kinder, gentle and more humane towards other people.”