Cleaning alleys, picking up trash and crafting homemade cards were three ways more than 300 students gave back to the community Sunday during the third-annual Community Plunge.
The event, in conjunction with the University of Cincinnati’s Center for Community Engagement, is a day of service and volunteering. The Community Plunge works with several partner sites including the American Cancer Society, St. Joseph Orphanage, the Pro Foundation and more. Students registered to participate through Campus Link and chose their volunteering site day-of.
The Community Plunge began as a partnership between the Center for Community Engagement and UC’s Greek Life, said Fran Larkin, CCE program coordinator.
This year’s event kicked off at 10 a.m. on McMicken Commons, offering 22 different Cincinnati organizations and agencies to choose from.
The event’s Greek partnership helped secure the support of Total Quality Logistics, a local company that focuses on hiring UC graduates, and which also has strong ties to the university’s Greek community. TQL provided breakfast for the volunteers before they were sent out.
The Plunge packed eight charter buses with student volunteers, according to Luke New, fifth-year marketing student and director of community service for UC’s Interfraternity Council.
Cassandra Thorpe, director of student athlete development, said the event was open to everyone on campus, but that it had a heavy Greek presence.
“More involvement [of organizations] increases participation,” Thorpe said. “As more word gets out, it’s definitely going to grow.”
The Plunge’s partner organizations allowed students to serve in a variety of ways. A street beautification non-profit called Spring in Our Steps put 24 students to work, cleaning alleyways in Northside as a part of its Allies for Alleys campaign.
The organization’s co-founder, Christian Huelsman, said the goal of the campaign is to create positive public spaces by cleaning up all 25 of Northside’s alleys. Spring in Our Steps has also worked on alleys closer to UC, including Shorre and Colby alleys, Huelsman said. Sunday’s event followed a similar one held Saturday that was open to all members of the community.
Not all participants got their hands dirty. One group of about 25 students was sent to Grace Hospice in Norwood, where they were put to work making cards for residents and their families for holidays and birthdays.
Hannah Scully, the site coordinator from the Community Plunge for the hospice group, said service like writing cards is just as important as labor-intensive service.
“It’s something that a lot of people don’t think about,” Scully said. “Picking up trash feels more like a chore. People are a little more excited to do this.”
Shelby Duncan, volunteer coordinator for Grace Hospice, said she was thankful for the students’ work.
“People who stay in hospices are usually in a lot of pain,” Duncan said. “Knowing that people are thinking of them is really special to them.”
Source: http://www.newsrecord.org/driven-to-serve-students-give-back-through-assorted-activites/article_584880b0-3969-11e4-a406-0017a43b2370.html
