Race for Service Lunch Bag Program Extends Bowie State’s Impact Beyond Campus

The Annual Race for Service: Help the Homeless Lunch Bag Program once again called on Bowie State students, faculty and staff to show care for neighbors experiencing homelessness in the Washington, D.C. region. What began in 2017 as a small service effort has grown into a signature initiative of the Division of Enrollment Management & Student Affairsand the Office of Multicultural Programs & Civic Engagement. Together, they have donated more than 5,000 meals to Central Union Mission.

Held each November, the event brought volunteers together to pack lunch bags assembly-line style for a partner shelter that supports unhoused community members. The room filled with conversation, teamwork and a shared sense of purpose as students spread peanut butter, portioned snacks and prepared handwritten notes that reminded recipients they were seen and valued. Race for Service is part of a larger slate of civic engagement efforts that includes National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week activities and other hands-on projects that help students understand basic needs insecurity while giving them a direct way to serve. Last year, volunteers made 200 sandwiches in 90 minutes, continuing an eight-year tradition of meeting essential needs through collective action.

The Office of Multicultural Programs & Civic Engagement, led by adjunct professor Dr. Keadrick Peters, coordinated Race for Service as one of its cornerstone programs. Peters said the event helped students understand the connection between leadership, empathy and daily acts of service.

"When students give their time to meet a basic need for someone else, they start to see the real impact they can have," Peters said. "Small acts of care help build a campus culture where service is part of who we are and how we show up for the communities around us."

This year, organizers prepared more than 300 meals. Volunteers made sandwiches, packed bags and sorted donations for delivery, and the work sparked conversations about poverty, homelessness and access to resources in the region. By linking these issues to the experience of preparing meals, the program helped students understand the broader challenges many community members face and encouraged them to think about service in a deeper way. For the first time, the BSU community surpassed its goal by preparing 300 meals for DC Central Union Mission.

For eight years, Clyde Doughty Jr., vice president of Athletics and Recreation; Rosetta Price, acting director of the Career Development Center; and Dorothy Wigglesworth, employer services manager in the Career Development Center, bolstered the initiative through personal financial contributions that helped the university meet its annual meal goal. Their behind-the-scenes support and consistent generosity strengthened the program's ability to serve the community and reflected the spirit of service that Race for Service aims to cultivate.

Students, faculty and staff who were unable to attend were encouraged to stay engaged through additional service opportunities hosted throughout the year by the Office of Multicultural Programs & Civic Engagement.

• MLK Jr. Day of Service - In Service of Kids (Jan. 23): Sign-up form
• Future Service Projects: Civic Engagement interest form