Heather Naessens stretches in a yoga class Wednesday afternoon at Mid-Michigan Industries, 2426 Parkway Dr. Every Wednesday a yoga class is run by student volunteers for mentally disabled adults. MMI serves as a training, employment and community foundation for people with barriers. (Tanya Moutzalias/Staff Photographer)

Thirty-two year old Heather Naessens bounced her knees as she adjusted herself into the warrior pose.

“Shake it, but don’t break it!” the Mount Pleasant resident joked to her fellow developmentally disabled participants as a chuckle broke out in the room.

This was Naessens’ second time participating in Mid-Michigan Industries’ weekly yoga class this semester, led by Central Michigan University student volunteers.

“I am volunteering here as part of the 180 hours required for therapeutic recreation majors,” said Bay City junior Maeling Groya.

The yoga facilitator said it’s rewarding to give people with developmental disabilities the opportunity to engage in yoga.

About 90 people, ranging from in age from 18 to 81 years old, are guided under Mid-Michigan Industries’ mission of enriching lives through employment, training and community, said Community Connections Supervisor Laurie Matties.

“We work with a lot of different people who just either want employment or to access their community and want some training,” she said. “This particular program focuses on leisure and volunteer activities.”

Mount Pleasant resident Dawn Feltin demonstrated the “tree” pose as she described her favorite part of the hour-long yoga session.

New Baltimore sophmore Nicole Socia, Danny McGinnis and Novi junior Thomas Szczygiel reach their arms into the air during a Yoga exercise Wednesday afternoon at Mid-Michigan Industries, 2426 Parkway Dr. Every Wednesday a yoga class is run by student volunteers for mentally disabled adults. MMI serves as a training, employment and community foundation for people with barriers. (Tanya Moutzalias/Staff Photographer)

“I also like stretching your legs and breathing in my belly,” the 43-year-old said.

New Baltimore sophomore Nicole Socia said she finds doing the work rewarding.

“I’ve never worked this closely with adults with disabilities,” she said. “You get to know how to handle it as a recreation therapist, and I think it’s good to know that in advance.”

With a loose grip on her chair, Naessens transitioned herself to a seat on the floor and began reaching for her pointed toes.

“Stretch those legs,” Groya instructed.

The group of 11 followed every move of the CMU students, who positioned themselves around the room, lending a hand of assistance if necessary.

“You always have to be on your toes,” Groya said.

In preparation for the Special Olympics, 51-year-old Mount Pleasant resident Danny McGenuis said yoga will help him get ready.

Matties said the participants benefit from doing the gentle exercise.

“This has truly been a win-win situation for us,” Matties said. “The students have made some great friendships with the persons served.”

Central Michigan University’s Harry Potter Alliance is one of hundreds of campus chapters nationwide. Focusing on volunteerism, the 25 members of the alliance aim to incorporate Harry Potter into a fight to change the world for the better.

“The Harry Potter Alliance is an organization that uses parallels from the books that relate to real life to inspire people to act against social injustice,” said President Alyssa Chrisman, Sterling Heights senior.

Chrisman has been president of the organization for two years and plans volunteer activities for members such as book drives and bi-weekly visits to the local animal shelter.

“When we do service events, we name them in a way that relates to the books,” said secretary and Holland senior Amanda Shepard. “For example, when we go to the animal shelter, we call it ‘Care of Magical Creatures.’”

Livonia junior Nick Armes has been involved in the organization since 2009 and now serves as vice president.

“The great thing about the Harry Potter Alliance is that we use Harry Potter to help our charity work,” Armes said. “We are a modern-day ‘Dumbledore’s Army’ and want to do good in the world in the name of Harry Potter.”

The organization was recently involved in a seven-month campaign focused on a different social issue each month.

“November was mental health month,” Chrisman said. “We drew a connection to Harry Potter by relating mental illnesses to dementors, which are found in the books. We sponsored events on campus and promoted the importance of mental health to students.”

Now that the books and movies have ended, Harry Potter Alliance members turn to Pottermore, an interactive website that offers members total access to a virtual Hogwarts, to keep connected to the Harry Potter world.

“Pottermore gets us excited again,” Armes said. “There are new releases and components to the books and movies that we’ve never seen before.”

Armes said he is not discouraged by the ending of the series.

“The books may be dead, but the essence of the characters and the impact they’ve made in all of our lives will live on forever,” Armes said.

Heffron, a Greenville senior and chairman of the Alternative Break program, has been on four week-long alternative breaks and one weekend break. He said the range of services he has volunteered for have changed his views.

“It has opened my eyes to why it’s important to be active in the local community,” Heffron said.

Bath senior and Alternative Break board member Sarah Johnson said she would stay in school just to go on trips if she could.

“It doesn’t feel like work,” she said. “It feels like vacation.”

Johnson said the nine alternative breaks she has been a part of have made her a better student. She said when she first got to college she did not know what to do with herself, but after finding the program, she has learned to appreciate college experience.

Bay City senior Brad Bender agreed more can be learned outside of classrooms than in them.

“The program is so strong and puts such an emphasis on learning and making yourself a more active citizen in your community,” Bender said. “You get a new perspective and learn from so many facets of the program, which is great.”

Bender said students should have patience because the program isn’t perfect and not everyone gets to sign up.  Online sign-up for alternative breaks begins at 7:30 a.m. on their designated days and is full within minutes, Heffron said.

To meet the demand, 37 alternative breaks are offered this year: 12 winter breaks, 12 spring breaks, five summer breaks and eight weekend breaks.

Students sign up for breaks by social issue and the destination isn’t known until after signing up. Heffron said this policy is to prevent students from signing up just for travel.

Bender said travel is a part of the experience. Depending on the break, travel can take twenty or more hours on the road.

However, long distance doesn’t mean alternative breaks are expensive. According to the volunteer center website, domestic trips will not cost over $350 for the week.

With fundraising, alternative break groups can reduce the price of their trip.

“Some groups raise enough for the entire trip,” Heffron said. “It depends on how much effort they put in.”

To sign up or get more information visit the volunteer center website or call (989) 774-7685.

“Go on one,” Johnson said. “Even if it’s just a weekend break, just to get your feet wet and see if you would like it, I would recommend going on at least one before you graduate.”

The Isabella Community Soup Kitchen, 621 S. Adams St. is busy year-round, but the school year is when everything gets busier because of college students, said Lead Cook Monica Barrett.

“We’ve been pretty busy lately,” Barrett said.

Barrett has volunteered at the soup kitchen since 1996, working three days a week every year since. When her husband died, she said she needed something to do so she started volunteering.

Aside from students utilizing the kitchen to eat, they also play a large part in volunteering. Students have the opportunity to volunteer for credit, or to come in as they please.

“The percentage of students varies, but a lot of students help out during the school year,”  Executive Director Genny Sobaski said.

Various organizations at CMU have groups will come in for an hour at a time, said kitchen coordinator Hal Langloys.

Langloys said the kitchen averages about ten volunteers a day, but some days as many as 20 volunteers come in.

“We have people come in here once a month, then we have people who have been here for years,” Langloys said. “I’ve been here eight and a half years.”

One woman has volunteered for seventeen out the twenty years the kitchen has been open, but is incapable of coming in often due to her health, he said.

The soup kitchen averages about 8 to 12 people on a regular three hour shift. With a group that comes in, they are able to take three people for two shifts.

The soup kitchen is in need of any kind of food and will work with what is brought in. Right now people are bringing in garden vegetables, but later on the soup kitchen will need more fresh fruits, Barret said.

“We’re doing pretty good right now,” she said. “Whatever kind of food you bring, we use.”

The Isabella County Animal Shelter struggles with a low amount of volunteers as the student population decreases in summer months.

“We have a fantastic group of volunteers from Central Michigan University,” said Jill Irving, executive director for the Humane Animal Treatment Society, 1105 S. Isabella Road. “But, we do see a lessening of volunteers during the summer.”

Irving said the shelter relies on people coming in to walk dogs and help socialize the cats. This interaction gets the animals used to people, Irving said.

The shelter received new 6-by-8-foot housing for the cats, donated by HATS in April 2011. People can actually walk into the cat housing now, she said.

While Irving said the shelter does everything it can to prevent animals from being euthanized, they are not a no-kill shelter because of a partnership with animal control.

“It’s our last resort,” she said. “The procedure (to neuter and spay animals), is not high in cost, but people don’t realize how important it is. There are more cats in Isabella County than people.”

Despite the large number of animals the shelter takes in, Irving said there is a 90 percent adoption rate, which is fifth in the state of Michigan from 2010 statistics. She credited the success to members of HATS, who spend time and raise funds to support the animals.

Mount Pleasant resident Jen Souva, who has volunteered for four years, said she was apprehensive when she first got involved because of the emotional strain that comes with caring for the animals.

“I always thought it would be so sad,” Souva said. “But then I thought about if I wasn’t there, who else would care for them? I’m glad I did it.”

Mount Pleasant resident Ann Dunigan has volunteered for six years. She said memories of working with dogs Rudy and Princess encourage her to continue.

“Both dogs were so terrified of people that no one could ever get close to them,” Dunigan said. “They would cower and hide if a person would even look their way. It took me weeks to gain their trust enough to let me touch them.”

Irving said sometimes the shelter is not the best environment for animals to flourish in — that is why there are other programs.

She said the shelter is developing a buddy program where it can partner with registered student organizations and community members. People would pay a nominal fee of about 20 dollars to become a buddy to a particular animal. The funds would help to feed and provide medical needs for the animal, with buddies coming on a weekly basis to help move animals through the adoption process.

“We’re trying to find new and creative ways to get the public involved,” Irving said. “We’re a non-profit, and therefore donation driven, but our focus is to get the animals adopted as soon as possible.”

She said it is also looking to implement a program called Walk to Adopt, where volunteers would take dogs off site, and give information to the public about the dog’s need for adoption while walking them.

“We’re just trying to give these animals a better chance at life,” Irving said. “Fortunately, we have an amazing staff with people willing stay an extra few hours to care for the animals, even after they punch out.”

Britton junior Rebecca Unsicker, president of Campus Scouts, said it is a volunteer group that promotes Girl Scouts and often works with some of the troops at schools in the area.

“I have been in Girl Scouts for a large chunk of my life,” Unsicker said. “I want to try to give back to it because it did so much for me. I also love to volunteer and get involved in the community.”

The organization was previously a registered student organization. Sterling Heights freshman Samantha Addington said it is undergoing changes and will be back in action next semester, when the main concern will be spreading the word about the group.

She said the group meets at 5 p.m. two Fridays a month in the Down Under Food Court.

Boyne City sophomore Sarah Gerberding was in the scouts all the way from kindergarten to her senior year in high school.

“It was a very rewarding experience,” she said. “It’s helped me with so many things, even jobs. Being a Girl Scout was why I won pageants because it showed I was involved in the community and was dedicated.”

Gerberding was Michigan’s 2006 delegate for Miss Teen America. She was recently crowned Michigan’s Perfect Teen. She said her years as a Girl Scout prepared her by teaching her to be grateful.

Addington feels the scouts have a lot to offer young girls as they go through the highs and lows of childhood.

“Girl Scouts is something that has died out and it can do so much for you,” Addington said. “That’s why we promote it. I think girls who don’t participate in Girl Scouts struggle without it and those who do it become more well-rounded.”

Unsicker said her many years spent in Girl Scouts taught her how to be disciplined and organized, and gave her the ability to balance being a student and president of the organization.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun once we get going with everything,” Addington said. “Any help is welcome.”

Staff Reporter Mike Nichols contributed to this report

He did not find the blue bag on accident — it was given to him by a group of Central Michigan University students.

Harreyes is a 36-year-old homeless man who has lived on the streets of Detroit for 15 years.

A group of 34 students from His House Christian Fellowship took seven cars Saturday to Detroit and handed out 100 care packages and six garbage bags of winter clothing.

“It was really amazing to learn so much about (the homeless),” said Caledonia sophomore Amber Hargett. “It really humbled my heart.”

Each care package contained a peanut butter sandwich, a toothbrush and toothpaste, bottled water, socks, gloves, mittens and a copy of the New Testament. The garbage bags were full of sweaters, winter jackets, sweatshirts and boots.

The students split into groups of about five, each one exploring a different area of the city.

‘A beautiful thing’

Harreyes appreciated the care package, but decided to give it to his friend, Bob Stephens, a 61-year-old who has been homeless for 17 years.

“Its a beautiful thing to give to people,” Harreyes said. “If I have something I know someone needs, I’ll give it to them.”

Harreyes and Stephens regularly hang out near Peterboro and Third streets.

The duo sits on a brick ledge surrounded by grass littered with dirty clothes, old newspapers, bits of food and other piles of garbage.

Each shared stories of their lives and how they got where they are.

Vestaburg resident Alisa McNerney also joined the group. She met a homeless man who claims to have invented helicopters and clothing.

“When we gave them things, we prayed with them and they knew we actually cared for them,” McNerney said.

She even received a kiss on the hand from the man.

Milford senior Jessy Stark met a woman named Linda, who shared stories with her about drug addictions she struggled with in the past.

Linda has been homeless for a few years and said she is moving to Ann Arbor in a few weeks to stay with her aunt.

Stark said she will move to Ypsilanti in May and, since the two are so close, they exchanged numbers.

“I’m hoping that when I get down there, we can continue the relationship we started today,” Stark said.

A late snack

At the end of the day, the group was hungry.

A 53-year-old homeless man named Travon Ingram led the students to American Coney Island, 114 W. Lafayette Blvd. in Detroit, where the students offered to buy him a meal.

Midland freshman Faith Gantner said every homeless person she met had a unique story to tell.

“When we took the time to get to know them, you see that they’re just people too,” Gantner said. “We needed to look at the people, not the problem.”

Taylor devoted almost ten hours to volunteering last weekend.

“I’ll do whatever I can do to help out, I love to help people,” he said. “This is not for me, it’s for God.”

Taylor committed Friday to taking care of homeless animals and playing a game of capture the flag with children. Saturday, he served food at the Isabella Community Soup Kitchen, 621 S. Adams St., and raked leaves for the elderly.

He was not alone — Taylor was joined by about 200 other students divided into small groups that took turns participating in different volunteer activities Friday and Saturday. It was all part of His House Christian Fellowship’s third annual “Faith in Action” weekend.

South Canton senior Jasmine Wilson places a dish of squash in the oven for lunch Saturday morning as part of a volunteer project put together by His House Church at the Isabella Community Soup Kitchen, 621 S. Adams St. (Victoria Zegler/Staff Photographer)

Many students played with animals at the Isabella County Animal Shelter, 1105 S. Isabella Road. Each of the shelter’s 34 dogs was walked and entertained by the volunteers.

“Every dog is going to sleep so hard tonight,” said Toni Smith-Holmes, who regularly volunteers at the shelter. “I think every dog got walked two or three times a day.”

Working and serving

Clarkston junior Michelle Sun made a new friend at the animal shelter — a small, yellow kitten named Sparky.

Sparky clawed at her wrist, but Sun adored the cat nonetheless.

“He was just really fun,” Sun said. “He was really active and always running around.”

Howell sophomore Megan Hutchings said the leaf-raking teams raked 10 yards Friday. She said it would be impossible to guess how many pounds of leaves they raked.

“We had a lot of fun working together and serving at the same time,” Hutchings said.

Mount Pleasant resident Mary Bowers was one local who had her entire front and back yard raked.

“I think it’s wonderful they come out here and do this for us,” she said. “We’ve got leaves galore.”

At the soup kitchen Sunday, South Canton senior Jasmine Wilson helped prepare beef stew for lunch.

“Seeing people getting blessed by our services is the most rewarding part,” she said.