Students Band Together for Day of Service
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (April 12, 2010) -- For the third time this academic year, SUNY
Plattsburgh students will lead a concentrated day of service at several sites throughout
the Plattsburgh area.
More than 100 SUNY Plattsburgh students are slated to complete volunteer projects
Saturday, April 24, working in many instances side by side with members of the Plattsburgh
community, benefiting individuals and organizations ranging from the North Country
Cultural Center for the Arts and the Community Garden Group to senior citizens in
their own homes and in nursing homes.
SUNY Plattsburgh sponsored its first large-scale community-wide day of service Oct.
24, 2009, on National Make-A-Difference Day. The inaugural event saw more than 100
students volunteer throughout the community, receiving positive feedback from a number
of organizations for their efforts. The college also backed a service day Feb.13,
an effort focused largely at helping local senior citizens at nursing homes and at
private residences.
In addition, students working with Project H.E.L.P, a student-driven organization
looking to engage interested students in volunteer experiences throughout the Plattsburgh
area, have logged more than 4,000 hours of volunteer service at local sites.
As with the two previous large-scale service days, student volunteers will work in
various capacities for a wide range of organizations. A work crew of 20 students will
assist volunteers from the North Country Cultural Center for the Arts in maintenance
work on the interior of the historic Strand Theatre. Another group will help members
of the Plattsburgh Community Garden Group prepare the garden for the upcoming growing
season. Another team will assist workers at Evergreen Valley Nursing Home by completing
exterior maintenance tasks and playing games with the senior citizen residents.
Point au Roche State Park will also benefit from the service of SUNY students. A number
of students will be assigned to the park to work with Park Manager Christopher Case
in readying the site for the park’s “Healthy Parks-Healthy People” eco-fair on May
8.
Students are also slated to volunteer with the Plattsburgh Interfaith Food Shelf,
JCEO HeadStart of Clinton County, the Adirondack Humane Society, and the Plattsburgh
Corps of The Salvation Army.
Project H.E.L.P. and the Plattsburgh Circle, Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership
honor society, are co-sponsoring the service day. Volunteers represent a broad group
of students, from international student organizations to college fraternal organizations,
SUNY Plattsburgh Student Ambassadors to individuals who just wanted to give back to
their community through donating their time and efforts.
For more information, call the Project H.E.L.P. office at 518-564-3648 or 518-564-4830,
or contact Benjamin Pomerance at 518-563-1744 or [email protected].