Amy Lam
Connector Contributor
Empowerment Through Service (ETS) is a new student organization looking for volunteers to join them in giving back to the community through service in Lowell, founded by Yudaya Nanziri and Zainab Garelnabi. Their mission is “empowering our community through service work.” This club was founded on the idea that community fosters collaboration, support and networking.
Nanziri is a public health major with a minor in nutrition. She said that she was always interested in community service. The club wouldn’t have been set up if she wasn’t in public health. In the summer, she worked with Garelnabi in a small profit organization as an intern, prompting them to come up with the idea that local organizations should benefit from receiving volunteers from UMass Lowell students and vice versa. Lowell is a place many call home and has a unique diverse population with distinct cultures and languages. However, there are noticeable issues in Lowell such as homelessness, substance use and low income.
Garelnabi is a public health major with a minor in biomedical science. Similarly to Nanziri, she said she always had an interest in community services and believes that nonprofits needed support in resources to aid their mission because of low funding. It gives students a chance to bridge connections, build their resumes and feel good about giving back to the community.
“It felt inevitable that the club had to happen,” Nanziri said.
As ETS is starting out, they have been connected with a few organizations. These volunteer events are mainly based in Lowell for the accessibility of students that want to be involved. There will also be events on campus for students’ convenience. They are open to expanding volunteer services in Dracut and Chelmsford in the future as they grow as an organization which may take a long time because logistically, it would be difficult to plan.
There have been two ETS events held on campus. Nanziri and Garelnabi were happy to see students from both North and South campus join in these events. A lot of students were applying to join the e-board, for which applications are now closed. Volunteering for organizations that require commitment can be difficult for students with their busy schedules. ETS allows students to have volunteer hours without the commitment to fit in with their schedules or do any paperwork. Last Wednesday, students came to participate in spring-cleaning on campus.
Garelnabi mentioned, “You could make your own connections to the organizations if you volunteer with the club if you felt that the organization was the right fit for you and it was something that you would want to do in the future or hopefully do as some type of opportunity.”
An advantage for those who join ETS is that they count the volunteer experiences for those who want to apply for the Community Engagement portion for the River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED) that serves as a certification.
The club meets on Wednesday at 5 p.m. every other week but, because of rescheduling events, the schedule hasn’t been consistent as the founders would’ve liked. Students can check out future events on Campus Groups as events will be emailed to members. ETS also has their own Instagram page @ets_uml.
Some goals for the club are organizing community service events, creating sustainable relationships between our club and local organizations and launching a peer mentorship to inspire youth in Lowell. All opportunities that help students feel a sense of community in the city regardless of whether they lived here as everyone shares the identity as a UMass Lowell student.
When asked about how they would define community, Nanziri said, “community is a place or a group of people who live in proximity to each other or work together with a mutual purpose.”
“I’d also like to add, a community is where people support each other, making space for people to grow in.” Garelnabi added.
