Smile, it’s good for you.
Here at Capital, we’re big on smiling and the Office of Student and Community Engagement thinks so too. Every month, they hold an event called the SCE Smile! series.
The SCE Smile! series events are currently led by two Capital interns, Jack Spiller and Kelsey Mitchell. All of the projects from this series go to Nationwide Children’s Hospital. There’s even a possibility that the project will expand to other nonprofits.
Just this past week, on Sept. 17 and 18, the SCE Smile! series had students write supportive notes to the kids at Children’s and decorate bags to give them. Abbey Rutschilling says they’re called “warm and fuzzy bags.” There will be other events in October and November but the details on what the event will be haven’t been decided yet. Rustschilling says it’s usually decided closer to the event date, but will have themes of upcoming holidays.
This event is such a great opportunity to serve the community and Abbey Rutschilling really feels that this project impacted the kids at Children’s.
“Our hope for the Smile! series is to brighten a child’s day and make them smile! Last year, we received a thank you card from a group of children who were at the hospital. It was wonderful to hear that they enjoyed the crafts,” she said.
Children’s Hospital seems to enjoy all that Capital’s SCE does for them, and the patients seem to love it as well. “Last winter, we received a card from the hospital and some of the patients that they really appreciated the crafts and that was really awesome to hear and I hope that all of the patients appreciate the crafts and that it puts a smile on their face,” Spiller said. 
The SCE has enjoyed putting on these events and has formed a lot of great memories. Rutschilling mentioned some highlights.
“Last fall semester, Nationwide was kind enough to send us a thank you card for the donations that had been made over the course of the semester! That was definitely a highlight for us. Another highlight is seeing how our Capital students get excited about the projects and engage in the activities!”
The SCE Smile! series creates a lot of joy. The people involved in running the event are very passionate about the project. “It is our hope to spread kindness and joy to both Capital students and the children receiving the projects and that’s one of the most rewarding things that come from the Smile! series,” she said.
