Students at Ottawa University may be noticing a once dormant organization on campus come back to life this year.
“We’re kind of starting a little bit from scratch this year,” Sandra Marlatte, Adawe Life Plan Center Advisor and GOTCHA sponsor. “We are sort of at a ground level.”
GOTCHA stands for Get Off The Couch and Help Another. Marlatte said the organization was started by a student on campus around 10 years ago to get students more active in helping others out. While the club was not officially dead last year, it was inactive.
“I think nobody really took any leadership and I don’t think there was anyone really involved as a sponsor,” she said.
Marlatte said the group falls under campus ministries. She said she knew of the organization and because of her involvement in developing volunteer activities around campus she was able to step up and help the group out as a sponsor.
“Doing service is one of my passions so hopefully I can inspire students to get more involved,” she said. “Anybody that wants to join and anybody who wants to do things for other people or animals is welcome.”
While the group has had one meeting to kind of talk about their hopes for the year, Marlatte said the group is planning to meet September 14 at 6 p.m. in the library to set up some of the specifics of the year.
Ryan Huene, senior, has been a part of the group since his freshman year.
“I think it’s a great organization that has a good focus and is great for the community,” he said.
Huene said he would like to see the group to a lot more in the community. He hopes the group plans more events, especially food drives.
“It’s my last year,” he said. “I would like it to be the biggest year it’s ever had. I want it to be the biggest and best year GOTCHA has ever seen.”
Club Co-Coordinator Sara Langley, junior, said she hopes the club will be a lot more active than the last two years and that they will be helping community in several different ways this year. In the past the club has been involved in activities such as playing BINGO at Sunflower Plaza and volunteering at the animal shelter.
“We always love having new members,” Langley said.
Students interested in joining the group should contact Sara Humm or Sara Langley for more information. The group meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month in the Center for Excellence room located in the library.