PLYMOUTH-Plymouth State senior and Social Work major, Bryan Jay, recently received a one thousand dollar Alumni Grant to build a library in the Reflection and Spiritual Care Center that opened on March 17.
The library is located in the meditation room of the Spiritual Care and Reflection Center. With his one thousand dollar budget, Jay was able to “add to the reflection rooms furnishing.” This included adding lights, blinds for the windows, painting the room, and adding meditation cushions. The library currently contains over 100 titles that represent a variety of topics, ranging from Buddhism to Islam.
For Jay, the project began in the fall of 2004. As a student in the social work department, a professor mentioned to Jay that grants were available for students wishing to embark on a project that will improve the community. Jay had been involved in the Reflection and Spiritual Care center for about a year at the time, as a leader of a meditation group.
After Jay applied for the Grant in November he received approval before the end of first semester and financing by January 1, 2005. Jay was able to get most of the work done over winter break giving the project over 100 hours of his personal time.
Jay felt that a library would enhance the Center’s mission to provide education and guidance for all forms of spirituality. Jay stated that the Spiritual Care and reflection center “provides students with an opportunity to access resources that address spiritual development and avail themselves of a space to use for personal spiritual growth.”
The new library is currently used by several clubs and organizations for meetings and is always open for personal use. The Spiritual Care Center provides Pastoral care, spiritual care, stress reduction, and can also be an alternative to the Counseling center. The Spiritual Care Center works along with Gender Resources and the Counseling Center to help with our community’s emotional growth and well-being.
The Reflection and Spiritual Care Center is open Monday through Friday.