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"Oasis" was probably not the first word that popped into the minds of 17 Maryville College Bonner Scholars as they wheeled up to a trailer park in Athens, Ga., last month.

But after a week of volunteering at The Oasis Católico Santa Rafaela and getting to know the residents who call the trailer park home, Bonners know now that this "Oasis" may not be beautiful and green but it is, indeed, a place of refuge and relief.

Out-of-town service trips are annual events for Bonners just completing their first year of college. As part of the students' orientation into the Bonner Scholars program, they choose one social issue to study and discuss throughout the year and, at the end of the year, they put their learning into practice.

The newest Bonner class chose to study the issue of immigration and originally planned a trip to Mexico, but then came the outbreak of swine flu, border violence and budgetary issues.

Plan B?

Preston Fields, director of volunteer services at Maryville College, talked with his contact at the Bonner Scholars program at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia. The Bonners at Jesuit worked with a convent in Philadelphia on a recent service trip and spoke highly of their experience.

After speaking with Sister Margarita Martin, the director of The Oasis, Fields was convinced that traveling to Athens, Ga., was an excellent "plan B."

The Oasis, home to roughly 200 immigrant families, predominately Mexican, was founded in 2002 by the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an international order of Sisters.

A double-wide trailer serves as the convent, while a small community building serves as an all-purpose room. The staff includes three nuns and numerous community volunteers.

Services offered by The Oasis include transportation, translation and fulfilling basic needs, such as food, clothing, diapers and furniture. An after-school tutoring program is also offered, staffed by student volunteers from the University of Georgia.

The Bonner students' main assignment was to help rehab a dilapidated trailer for a woman, her five young children and her mother. They had been living in a shelter for abused women when the trailer became available.

The students worked for five days fixing floors, windows and doors, as well as renovating the kitchen and painting.

In the afternoons, the Bonners led Vacation Bible School for the children, which included a Bible story, games and crafts. According to the students, the children quickly warmed up to them and listened attentively.

In many ways, serving at The Oasis was like being in Mexico. The women cooked authentic Mexican food each night. Spanish was the predominant language. The students left the park only to pick up supplies from a local hardware store.

"As the Bonners were studying immigration over the past year, some were undecided about the issue. But getting to know these people and their stories blew books out the window," said Fields who accompanied the students on the trip.

"I was impressed with their willingness to adapt and build relationships across cultural boundaries," he continued.

Powerful impact

A few women shared stories of immigrating to the United States. Some stories were of brutality, suffered at the hands of "coyotes," people who are paid to smuggle illegal immigrants across the U.S. border from Mexico. Others walked hours upon hours, often lacking water. Most conveyed the pain of leaving behind family while they pursued hope.

Cayce Williams was so moved by these stories that she is now considering a career in immigration policy.

"This trip further affirmed my belief that there are many issues with the laws of immigration and it is time to change them," she stated.

"As a Mexican-American, it was the hardship of my grandparents that gave my mom, my siblings and I all of the opportunities we are blessed with today," she continued.

For Nelson Fauls, of Etowah, the trip was eye-opening.

"I now understand the hardships that (the immigrants) went through just to be together as a family. For those who are trying to make an honest living and not associate with gangs and domestic violence, I believe something should be done in a more timely manner regarding their citizenship, in order for them to get ahead in life and not always stay one step behind," he shared.

Funding now sought

During any given year, approximately 60 Maryville College students are volunteering in the community as Bonner Scholars. Weekly, these students contribute at least 600 volunteer hours to more than 25 agencies in the community. In a school year, the combined impact is nearly 17,000 hours.

Since the Bonner Scholars program was implemented at Maryville College in 1991, it is estimated that more than 250,000 hours of service have been given to local nonprofits and churches as well as programs in Africa and Latin America.

Last year, the Bonner Foundation announced that it would award Maryville College $4.5 million to endow the program. The endowment process includes a requirement that the College match the Bonner Foundation's grant with $2 million - a $1 million "completion grant" that will be added to the foundation's $4.5 million to create the Bonner Scholar Endowment, and another $1 million to establish the Bonner Operating Endowment, which will be used to support activities surrounding the Bonner Scholars Program.

The college has until Aug. 1, to raise the funds necessary for the match.

For more information on the Bonner match, contact Brandon Bruce in the Office of Advancement and Community Relations at 981-8191 or brandon.bruce@maryvillecollege.edu.