We Walk Together: Intercultural Dialogue Group

The intercultural dialogue group formed in Spring 2017. It's currently known by the name: "We Walk Together" – a group for WCU students, faculty and staff as well as people from nearby communities like Cullowhee, Webster, East Laport, Tuckasegee, Sylva, Dillsboro, Cherokee, Whittier, and Waynesville. The group has monthly gatherings, which either involve a potluck meal and culture presentation on campus or a shared service project. WCU students who participate can earn DegreePlus Cultural Responsiveness points and WCU staff can use their Community Service Hours.

You may be interested in this group if you want to:

• focus on intercultural dialogue and improved understanding
• share traditional food--delicious, plentiful and, diverse
• participate in community service (eg. unload deliveries to the Sylva Community Table)
• practice peaceful interactions with other people
• support international students, faculty & staff at WCU

Meetings & Service Projects

Below is a list of cultural presentations (meal & meeting potlucks) and service projects the Intercultural Dialogue Group has recently participated in:

• Presentations on Indian, Iran & Persian, Libyan, Korean, and Saudi Arabian culture.
• Planting shrubbery on WCU's campus.
• Unloading Manna Food Bank truck at Sylva's Community Table .
• Serving Thanksgiving Meal at WCU's Home Base, for college students with little to no family support.
• "Project Firewood Day": Splitting and delivering firewood to senior citizens at the Cullowhee United Methodist Church.
• Participated in Instructions in dumpling making at WCU's Home Base.
• Packing nutritious freeze-dried meals with Rise Against Hunger (formerly Stop Hunger Now) and the NC chapter of the Association of Facilities Professionals--a volunteer project from WCU's Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning.

Contacts

If you're interested in joining the We Walk Together group, feel free to contact one of the members listed below:

Amy McKenzie, Department of Philosophy & Religion, amckenzie@wcu.edu
Berna Karayaka, Department of Chemistry & Physics, bkarayaka@wcu.edu
Julie Ogletree, Greater-Community Member, ogletreejulie@gmail.com