Total Community Involvement (TCI) is an initiative designed to connect with our community. Each Wednesday afternoon for the past three years, our Weimar University, Academy, and Elementary students and faculty have been setting down the books, laptops, and papers for the afternoon to recognize and meet the needs of our community. Over the years, we have spent over 85,000 hours in our community. From yard work to health education, our faculty and students have been reaching out to help our community members in every way we can. And in the process of meeting needs, working hand in hand with community friends, and connecting through conversations, we’ve achieved our true goal: sparking long-term friendships.
In order to connect with as many community members as possible each week, our academy, elementary school, and university have each formed a number of teams who serve different areas of our community. Our teams allow us to extend the hands of hope to the farthest corners of our community: divide and comfort.
I appreciate that my school reminds us students, and even our professors, to make service a priority in our lives. TCI provides opportunities for us students to get involved in our community in a way that we probably would not have otherwise. Week after week, TCI helps me stop stressing about my classes by shifting my focus to bringing joy to someone else, which in turn gives me a joy that I never would have had otherwise.
—Joshua Schulterbrandt