Hobart and William Smith Colleges

18 April 2011 Day of Service Wrap Up

Despite the rain, nearly 100 students participated in the third and final Day of Service of the academic year. HWS President Mark Gearan sent the volunteers on their way commending them for their willingness to contribute to the community.

You make a real difference and thats the point of today. This is evidence of our citizenship; its a step forward to be the community we aspire to be, he said.

There were 10 sites available for this Day of Service including: Womens Interfaith Institute, Rural Migrant Ministry, Seneca7, Geneva Theater Guild, St. Peters Episcopal Church, Granger Homestead and Carriage Museum, Finger Lakes Youth Sports Challenger Division, Geneva Community Center, McDonough Park and the Hillside Childrens Center.

At the newest Day of Service site, Hillside Childrens Center, a group of about 15 students cleaned the centers campus and also played ball with the centers youth. Hillside provides care for youth with a range of emotional, behavioral or life-circumstance challenges, and their families. They offer recreational treatment for mental health, child welfare, juvenile justice, special education, developmental disability services, psychiatric consultations and medical consultations.

What these Hobart and William Smith students accomplished today saves us money which will be put back into the activities fund for the Hillside kids. It may only be a few hours of service, but its much more to these kids than that, says John Altman, the recreational manager of the Hillside Childrens Center. Its amazing that the students at the Colleges value their community and care enough to come out here and help.

The group of students spent the day working outside on the grounds moving tires, spreading mulch on the playground, cleaning storage sheds and picking up litter around the campus. After their hard work, they enjoyed a game of kickball with the Hillside kids.

Today really shows the community that were involved and willing to help whenever were needed. Were available as a resource, especially with these kids who need our help however we can provide it to them, says Ellen Ellison 11, who spent the day raking mulch for the Centers playground.

Her friend and fellow classmate Liz Liebman 11 shared her sentiment about their service, Its great to uphold the bond we share with the larger Geneva community and to be good examples of what HWS students represent. Were members of this community too, and Day of Service is a nice reminder of that.

In the photo above, students help ready McDonough Park for the season.