By: Jake Gibbons, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, jmg6173@psu.edu

A new year calls for a lot of new changes, and 2015 is no different.

For this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Week of Service, the Made with Love project aimed to provide service to others in a different kind of way.  A project which enabled students to make blankets from scratch for donation to a local nursing home took place January 20.

On that morning, a small group of students gathered around separate tables. Two sheets of warm cloth were required to make the blankets, each piece needing to be individually cut, folded and tied together to form a single piece. Inspiration for the project came from Nittany Needle Work, a sewing club that was offered a few years ago at Brandywine that embarked on a similar pursuit. Just as before, the blankets would be donated after being made to the Fair Acres nursing home located just up the road from Brandywine to be used as lap blankets for those in wheelchairs.

“Each person is given a handmade blanket when they enter the home,” Amy Dealy, Brandywine’s programming coordinator for student affairs and leader of the project, said. “So when we offered to make some for them they loved the idea immediately.”

The turnout for the event was relatively small, but a fair number of blankets were still made over the course of the event. After the blankets were made, free pizza was given to those who helped out, which actually encouraged a few other students in the Den to help as well.  Sushrut S., a freshman at Brandywine and prospective computer science major, was one of the students participating.

“It’s for a good cause and it seems like a good use of common hour,” Sushrut said. “That, and there’s free pizza.”

Dealy was satisfied with the event, and will be planning more events similar to this one for upcoming service weeks or just as a general event. She hopes that if they do this sort of event again that she’ll be able to gather more people and in turn make more blankets to donate. This time about eight were made in total, with more to be made later on.

By: Liz Gramlich, Lions Eye Staff Editor, eag5283@psu.edu

Penn State Brandywine teamed with The Giving Garden Food Pantry & Community Garden to commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr.

On January 19, Brandywine students aspired to get involved with the community and start a tradition of a community service project on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  King was an asset to his own community, and the world, that Brandywine Student Affairs personnel thought this would be an insightful way to commemorate all that he did.

Student leaders Ryan Stone, Paul Alberici, Luke Burdsall, Elisabeth Gramlich and advisor Stephanie Jones worked together on this community service project. They drove to Foundry Church in the Brandywine community and were greeted by enthusiastic members, all there for the same cause. Their goal was to create food packages for those who were in need.

The Brandywine students and adviser split up into two groups. One group was in charge of checking food to make sure that it was not expired nor damaged. The other group was in charge of packaging foods for families and students in need. Throughout the day they checked hundreds of food items and put together about 80 packages for families in the community.

Those who visit the pantry are primarily single mothers and college students. It may be hard to think that by doing these tasks it can make an impact on families, but it really does. Families are relieved that they have a helping hand supporting them and helping them out. One thing I learned is that many college students have problems with not eating correctly or not enough, because that is the one cost that they can control. With paying for tuition and other bills, it leaves little room for food. This cause helps people across the Delaware County by supplying them with food and nourishment.

The Giving Garden Food Pantry & Community Garden is located at the Foundry Church. They collect and give to the community all year long. Students can help by volunteering, planning a food drive, or sponsoring. The Food Pantry is open on Fridays 4- 6 p.m. and is open to those in need.

“The fact that the people there were so caring was very touching,” Stone said.  “We walked in there as complete strangers but they treated us like they had already known us”.

King was a selfless leader and was an inspiration to others. There was not a better way to honor him then by participating in a day of community service. Student Affairs set up this event in the community to accomplish this task. It was a great day to give time and efforts to help others on, not just a day off of school, but a day to commemorate a great man.

Jessica Maginnis is more than just a student here at Penn State Brandywine, she’s a friend to many.

Maginnis has made her college experience a unique one by participating in events, joining clubs, as well as being an extraordinary student-athlete. Maginnis is a junior planning to graduate in spring of 2016, with a Bachelor of Arts in HDFS.

In 2013, Maginnis received the “Student Woman of the Year Award for Leadership and Involvement Enhancement on campus.” Student leaders at Penn State Brandywine are recognized for their positive influence on the study body, outstanding service to the campus community through volunteering, cross-cultural understanding, academic excellence and campus involvement during the campus’ annual Leadership Recognition Night.

A member of the women’s cross country team, Maginnis just recently experienced a National Championship. This past fall, the team went to the National Championship in Syracuse, New York. They finished in 11^th place out of 18^th overall, and first out of all Penn State satellite campuses, beating their big rival Scranton in the Women’s Conference.

“That experience was rewarding since all our girls trained like beasts and ran in the freezing, slippery weather in New York,” Maginnis said. “The experience also lead to getting a PSUAC Academic All-Conference award for the first time for earning a 3.0 and participating in a sport.”

Maginnis excels in the classroom too. She’s had several memorable professors along the way.

“My favorite professor here at Brandywine is difficult to choose, but I would pick Dr. Zosh,” Maginnis said. “I’ve only had her twice, but I hope to have her again. She challenges me and knows so much about child development. She seems so passionate about her work and research, which gives me strength to want to do more with children.”

Maginnis’ experience here at Brandywine has been a very interesting one to say the least. College life has changed from freshman year to senior year. Hanging out in the Lion’s Den with amazing lifelong friends and creating irreplaceable memories is something that she will hold on to forever. Her sophomore year is when she took over THON with some help from her cousin and started running cross country. She managed this all while keeping up with her busy social life on campus, working 25 hours a week and taking classes.

“It was stressful beyond words, but I wouldn’t have done it any other way,” Maginnis said.

Maginnis’ hard work and determination to succeed in several fields here at Brandywine lead her to the impressive role of being the head of Brandywine THON. Stumbling upon the role of being chair of THON in 2011, with little to no guidance, she took the bull by the horns and has never looked back.

“Being a chair for THON at Brandywine has been difficult yet rewarding in so many ways,” Maginnis said “It’s hard getting people involved on campus and finding out what others would like to do as ‘fun’ on campus. But we are trying different things, and hopefully we increase the involvement and awareness here at Brandywine.”

Her biggest accomplishment in her college career, she said, was attending last year’s THON. Unfortunately, she won’t get that opportunity again because she will be interning next spring.

This student-athlete has accomplished so much in her college career, and just wants current and prospective students to get involved.

“What’s interesting about Brandywine and the students here is that they have to opportunity to take advantage of the resources around them,” Maginnis said. “It’s so easy to get involved and build leadership skills which will help you achieve so much in life.”

That’s true Brandywine spirit right there.

Lion’s Eye Staff Editor, Victoria Marotta, vim5121@psu.edu

The time to give blood is now.
A Red Cross Blood Drive was held at the Rock Run YMCA in October to help provide blood for some
children who may need extra blood to help with cancer, autism, diabetes, pneumonia and other
diseases and infections.
“Rocky Run loves hosting Red Cross Blood Drives,” Meg Sherry, Rocky Run’s Advanced Wellness
Director, said. “We are a community-based organization and we really take pride in making people
feel welcome and helping those around us. Our members know that donating blood saves lives and we
try our best to encour- age everyone to donate or at least spread the word about the benefits about
donating.”
Dozens of Delaware County residents and YMCA faculty members gave blood at this event. By donating
blood through the American Red Cross, Rocky
Run YMCA has helped provide health awareness to the community.
“Donated platelets and blood can play an enormous role in cancer treatments and care, along with
multiple other diseases,” Dr. Angela Sievert, an oncologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia,
said. “I see over 100 blood transfusions a month here at the children’s hospital. Chances are,
there’s a child or a family waiting for the gift of blood that a healthy person is able to give.”
To qualify to donate, potential donors must be 16-years-old or older, generally healthy and weigh
at least 120 pounds.  Health history is discussed as part of the donation process, and each donor
receives a brief examination which includes temperature, hemoglobin and blood pressure
measurements.
Rocky Run YMCA has helped the Red Cross fulfill its purpose of
ensuring the availability of a safe and reliable blood supply.
Local blood drives can be found online at www.redcrossblood.org. On November 6, for example,
there’s a blood drive at the West Chester
American Red Cross from 1-8 p.m.

Victoria Marotta
Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, vim5121@psu.edu