Outreach

“It just broke my heart,” Military/Business Operations team member Vanessa Garcia said of not being able to visit with residents of the Arizona State Veteran Home this year for Salute Our Troops. The residents there haven’t seen their families in person for 11 weeks, ever since access to the facility has been limited because of COVID-19 precautions. But employees found a way to celebrate veterans Thursday with a parade of family and friends that was socially distant, followed by a lunch that thanked the veterans’ home employees.

A lot happened at GCU near the end of the 2019-20 academic year, but nothing could come close to the significance of COVID-19 forcing students off campus in March. Athletics also felt the brunt of the pandemic with the WAC Basketball Tournament and spring sports being canceled, but the hirings of new basketball coaches Bryce Drew and Molly Miller made for a promising future.

GCU’s effort to produce cloth face masks has been joined by College of Fine Arts and Production costume designer Nola Yergen, who has recruited several GCU Hotel employees to add pleating. It makes the coverings fit more like traditional hospital masks, but it’s important for an even bigger reason. “This is about teamwork,” Yergen said.

What do you get when you combine the Milwaukee Brewers and GCU’s Honors College? The Brewers STEM Crew after school club. The program for middle school students, who were led by students from the Honors College, highlighted the STEM involved in baseball through an active, engaging approach.

Photos by David Kadlubowski GCU News Bureau Saturday was a big night for Operation Revival, GCU’s signature neighborhood revitalization initiative. More than 200 Habitat champions attended the Lopes vs. UT Rio Grande Valley men’s basketball game, and a handful of volunteers and their guests were heralded by Lopes fans as they stood at midcourt after having received special recognition for their contributions.

Teen dating violence affects 1.5 million young people in America, which is why the University’s HOSA Future Health Professionals chapter thought it was important to partner with the New Life Center and bring a panel to campus for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Representatives from Bloom365, one-n-ten, the New Life Center and GCU on Thursday spoke about the red flags to teen dating violence, how to help those experiencing it, the difference between unhealthy and healthy relationships and more.

After reading a book by Alan Alda, South West Advanced Neurological Rehabilitation speech language pathologist Patricia Backus came up with the idea of incorporating improv into therapy sessions. She reached out to GCU’s Theatre Department and was connected with the Cantalopes, and for the past several months GCU’s improv group has worked alongside SWAN Rehab professionals to teach improv techniques to both staff and patients.

Producer/director Michael Matheson Miller wanted to critique the big business of the poverty industry in his award-winning documentary, “Poverty, Inc.,” which ponders the question of who really benefits from all the humanitarian aid and “social engineering” — the new, politically correct word for poverty — directed at poverty-stricken areas of the world. The film was screened on campus Wednesday, and Dr. Jason Hiles, Dean of Theology, says he hopes the screening will start a conversation on campus about how we engage in our work in the community and in charitable causes.

GCU and GCE volunteers have revitalized the homes of 285 families in the Canyon Corridor and Maryvale since GCU’s partnership with Habitat for Humanity was launched five years ago. To celebrate, any employee who has worked on a Habitat project will receive an invitation to Operation Revival Night at the men’s basketball game Saturday. Not that the community restoration is done — more than 200 volunteers will be needed to fill projects between now and July 10. “You’re needed. You’re making a difference,” University Relations Manager Debbie Accomazzo said.

The Cactus League Luncheon on Wednesday in GCU Arena was an opportunity for representatives from the 15 teams at Arizona spring training to congregate before the exhibition games start. But it also gave GCU students a chance to show how they can help make a big event run smoothly. Sophomore Hayden Trujillo was in charge of all the student volunteers.