The Allstate Center is unique. You’ll notice a different atmosphere as soon as you walk through our doors. When you pass academy cadets in the hall, they line up for you as a sign of respect. Donation bins are often scattered around the campus for the recruits’ latest service project. And wherever you go, you’ll likely be addressed as “sir” or “ma’am.”

This respectful and service-oriented mindset is something we try to foster here at the Allstate Center. The students in our College of Public Safety are public servants, after all, and that service begins the moment they step through these doors. That’s why we are so proud of our latest recruits. Not only have they launched local service projects, but they are even engaging with communities across the sea.

For Valentine’s Day, recruits and academic students joined forces to create cards for a community in Benin, West Africa. Armed with glitter glue, pink-and-red construction paper, and holiday stickers, they wrote messages of friendship and encouragement—all in French, the official language of Benin. Over 40 cards were filled with warm wishes, such as Je vous souhaite une vie merveilleuse (I wish you a wonderful life). 

Rebecca Sarver, the Allstate Student Life and Leadership Coordinator, mailed the cards to her friends in Benin, who will be distributing them throughout their community. The global aspect of the event appealed to the recruits. “I thought it was interesting that it was to people [overseas],” said Nicole Comiskey, a recruit from CRC 89.

This event will be the first in a series of service projects. On March 3, drop by the Allstate Library from 12-7pm for “Postcards for Peeps.” We’ll be making Easter cards for patients recovering in a local hospital.

Fast Facts About Benin:

• Voodoo originated from Benin.
• Benin is the home to the real Amazons, the only recent-history all-female military regiment (lasting until the end of the 19^th century). As the rumor goes, these women used to cut off a breast as young girls to become more proficient in using a bow and arrow
• The Fon word for foreigner is “Yovo”. Children sing a song to foreigners when they see them: “Yovo yovo bon soir. Ca va bien? Merci.” Which means “White person, white person. Good Evening. Are you doing well? Thank you.” In the time of Europeans coming to colonize Benin, the children would sing them this song to show they were learning French and would receive candy as a reward.
• The colors of the flag are green, red and yellow. Green symbolizes hope for renewal, red denotes the ancestors’ courage, and yellow represents the country’s richest treasures.
• The coast of Benin was a central point of the slave trade for 3 centuries; nearly 1 million individuals were boarded onto ships at the beach of Ouidah and transported across the Atlantic. (Side note: THIS is how Voodoo got to Haiti!).

— Facts courtesy of Rebecca Sarver, Student Life and Leadership Coordinator