Georgia Southern summer camp focuses on giving back to the community

STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - A Georgia Southern summer camp is taking students off-campus this week to help build up the community that surrounds it.

WTOC spent Tuesday getting a glimpse at the community service happening.

62 incoming freshmen at Georgia Southern will be heading out into the Statesboro community this week as a part of the universities’ BUILD program.

What is BUILD? See video below:

For these campers, the day starts with some team building.

Soon more than 62 incoming freshmen will head to one of the fourteen different organizations across Statesboro for some community service.

“Each student is completed about 12 community service hours for 750 total hours between all 62 students that we have this week,” said Co. Director of BUILD, CJ Parmer.

Parmer helps organize the BUILD program.

He said the service sites range from building houses with Habitat for Humanity- to preparing local public schools for the first day of school.

Each group is led by a Georgia Southern upperclassman who has gone through this program themselves.

“They’re calling me old but I love it so much that I’m back again,” said GSU student, Grace Pham.

Pham says that students being involved in Statesboro is just as important as being involved on campus.

“You’re giving back to a community starting now, that will give to you for the next four years and it’s true. Georgia Southern is as much as Statesboro as Statesboro is to Georgia Southern,” said Pham.

Parmer says if the community of Statesboro isn’t thriving, neither is the university that calls it home.

“We tell the students that as much as we believe the university helps sustain this community, the community helps sustain Georgia Southern. We are not only building community among each other, but alongside the surrounding community,” said Parmer.