Stories this week at WFU

FACULTY GIVE STUDENTS EXAM ENERGY — Faculty and staff members will serve a late night breakfast and sponsor a study break for students from 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Dec. 9 in the Reynolda Hall cafeteria (the Pit). The twice annual breakfast has become a tradition for students and faculty during exam week. There also will be performances by student musical groups. To arrange coverage, contact the News Service at 336-758-5237.

STUDENTS TURNED SANTA’S HELPERS — Wake Forest students dressed as Santa and his elves will deliver individually wrapped, new toys to needy children in Winston-Salem Dec. 14 starting at 9 a.m. Started by former Wake Forest football player Chip Rives in 1986, this project benefits more than 200 local families. The Athletes Care Team now sponsors this effort. To arrange coverage, contact the News Service at 336-758-5237.

SERVICE ABROAD DURING THE HOLIDAYS – Forty-five Wake Forest students participating in separate service trips will travel to four different countries during the university’s winter recess to volunteer with various charitable organizations. Their service destinations are Vietnam with the Peace-Work Ambassadors to work on community development and construction crews; the Agalta Valley in Honduras to do construction and relief work with the Honduras Outreach Project and Exchange; Mexico City to work at a home for disabled women and children sponsored by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity; and Calcutta, India, where they will work in homes sponsored by the Missionaries of Charity and Brothers of Charity. Students leave for the trips after Dec. 25 and return in time for the start of the spring semester. To cover this story, or to interview participants or student trip leaders, contact the News Service at 336-758-5237.

STUDENTS PUT WAKE TO WORK, CREATE PROFITABLE BUSINESS – As a part-time waiter at a downtown hotel, Wake Forest junior Matt Hinson saw management’s difficulty in finding and keeping qualified, dependable part-time workers. So he turned to the workforce he knows well – his classmates at Wake Forest. Hinson and business partner, senior David Wilhoit, started “Wake Works” last fall. It is a business that has blossomed into a regular work force of about 120 students, three contracts with local catering companies and a nice profit for Hinson and Wilhoit. “We market employees that care about the job they do,” says Hinson, who trains his employees on five-star serving, wine selection and etiquette. The students serve as waitresses, bartenders and valet parkers at various events and earn higher wages than many other part-time jobs. The business model has worked so well that Hinson is franchising it to students at other colleges and universities across the country. He says the franchises should be up and running by spring. For more information or to arrange an interview with Hinson or Wilhoit, contact Sarah Mansell at manselss@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

THINKING OUT LOUD CAN TEACH CHILDREN ABOUT GETTING AND GIVING – When trying to help children deal with the holiday season’s emphasis on buying new things, parents should “think out loud,” says Donna Henderson, a Wake Forest University counseling professor. Parents should say out loud what they are thinking when deciding whether or not to buy something, says Henderson, who has 12 years of experience as a teacher and school counselor. “We do this so quickly in our minds, but we need to actually say it to give children a model for their own decision-making.” Providing a “script” for younger children to use for situations when they want a new toy or a new article of clothing helps develop their cognitive thinking skills. This method also works well when parents are trying to encourage helping others. “If you are donating food to a homeless shelter or doing charity work,” she says, “Let children know how you reached your decision to help.” To arrange an interview with Henderson, contact Cheryl Walker at walkercv@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

EXAMS START MONDAY — Undergraduate students will begin exams on Dec. 9. Residence Halls close for the holiday break Dec. 15.