COURTESY PHOTO
The Day of Service took place all day on Friday, September 28th. It was an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, and alumni of Plymouth State University to join together and volunteer at different sites around this region.
Casey Krafton and Jess Dutille of the Center for Transformation consider the Day of Service successful. “We were able to engage students, faculty, staff, and alumni in meaningful service work in the community,” they said, “We were happy to coordinate an opportunity like this for the university, which hasn’t been done in years!”
This was the first official iteration of this event. There were 85 participants total.
The t-shirts volunteers wore had a quote from American writer Libba Bray, “And that’s how change happens. One gesture. One person. One moment at a time.”
Participants volunteered their time and effort to give back to the community. There were seven sites that participants could choose from. They were all with off campus and non-profit partners. The sites included: Circle Camp, Belknap Mill, Squam Lakes Science Center, Mowglis Camp, Habitat for Humanity, Friends of the Pemi, and Baker River Watershed Association. “We had a varying amount of volunteers at each site,” Jess said.
PSU faculty members were involved in this as well. “Some participated and some hosted volunteer opportunities,” Casey said, “Many thanks to Rachelle Lyons, Whitney Howarth, Laura Tilghman, and Amy Villamagna for facilitating meaningful service experiences with their partners.”
There will likely be more Days of Service in the future. “We are dedicated to providing meaningful and reciprocal service opportunities that have positive impact on our region each year,” they said, “We are gathering feedback from our partners and participants to make sure we address any challenges for the next time we offer a similar experience.”
PSU truly benefited from the Day of Service. It gathered the community together to help out at some great causes. Casey and Jess said, “We would like to extend our gratitude to campus and our partnering organizations for honoring our connections and strengthening our commitment to make a positive impact in our community.”
The first official Day of Service was a big accomplishment for our community. Anyone who missed out on the Day of Service should keep an eye out next year, and be sure to get involved.