Lindsey Wilson College Gives Back to the Community on Malvina Farkle Day

COLUMBIA, KY -- Lindsey Wilson College senior Sydney Wilson from Campbellsville, Kentucky, had never participated in the college's Malvina Farkle Day until this year.

Because she has been a commuter student, Wilson said she always skipped the college's day of community service. That changed this year when Wilson was one of more than two dozen students in LWC's education program who took part in the day.

"I attended the breakfast kick-off ceremony in the dining center," said Wilson who spent the morning assisting teachers at the Adair County Primary Center. “It was chaotic and loud, but it was fun to see everybody up that early and coming together to participate.”

Malvina Farkle Day is named in memory of a mythical Lindsey Wilson alumna and staff member who lived a life of service and fun. Classes are dismissed for the day while students spend the morning working on community service projects. The afternoon includes campus games and activities.

As a student living in the campus residence halls, LWC junior Mia Weigel from Hustonville, Kentucky, has volunteered at a different service site each year.

“The first year worked with JOY Ministries, my sophomore year I helped out at the Bonner House, and this year I am at the Adair County Public Library,” said Weigel. “I think it’s really interesting to get a different perspective each year and work in new parts of the community and meet new people.”

LWC senior nursing student Zoe McAninch from Campbellsville, Kentucky, spent Malvina Farkle Day at Summit Manor Nursing Home with her classmates and professors from the LWC’s nursing program.

“Today we have been helping housekeeping by cleaning windows and we are helping maintenance by power washing the wheelchairs,” said McAninch who works as a part-time aid at the nursing home in Columbia. “We have also worked with the activity staff by doing one-on-one activities with the residents.”

Before he dismissed classes for the day, LWC President William T. Luckey Jr. told a packed Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center that LWC has a strong history of community service.

"Last year Lindsey Wilson College donated nearly 29,000 hours of community service. That is an economic impact of $750,000," Luckey said. "So let’s use this day as a reminder to ourselves about how blessed we are and at the same time what a wonderful difference we can make in this community or wherever we are."

Some of the Columbia-Adair County locations involved with 2023 Malvina Farkle Day were:

Jim Blair Center
Veterans Park
Joy Ministries
Agape House
Columbia Christian Church
Adair County Public Library
Summit Manor Nursing Home
PRIDE Roadside Clean-up
Green River Lake/Holmes Bend
Green River Animal Shelter
Little League Park
Adair County Schools Family Resource Centers
Columbia Fire Department
Green River Trail Maintenance
Adair County Primary Center
Adair County Bus Garage