MOUNT VERNON -- For the 10th consecutive year, students, faculty and staff at Cornell College will contribute hundreds of hours of community service in a single day -- Saturday, Aug. 28 -- before opening the school year Monday.
Volunteers will work from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at approximately 25 sites around eastern Iowa.
Last year more than 400 participants donated over 1,500 hours during New Student Orientation Service Day. This is the largest single-day community service project Cornell organizes and serves as the kickoff for a year's worth of service projects. More than three-fourths of Cornell's 1,150 students participate in service projects annually.
"Cornell believes in the importance of service and engaging in the world outside the college, and Service Day introduces new students to that commitment," said Jeff Ramsey, Cornell's director of
Leadership and Service. "A connection develops between the campus and the community. Through Service Day, faculty, staff, students and the community join together to create positive change."
Several projects are listed below. In case of rain, outdoor activities may be changed or cancelled.
- Washing ambulances and fire trucks at the Lisbon-Mount Vernon Ambulance Service, 730 First St. East, Mount Vernon.
- Cleaning up trails, Palisades-Kepler State Park.
- Cleaning and painting at Southeast Linn Community Center, 108 S. Washington St., Lisbon.
- Cleaning the facilities, exercising dogs at the Cedar Valley Humane Society, 7411 Mount Vernon Rd. SE, Cedar Rapids.
- Rehabilitating houses and apartment buildings, working on community beautification through the MidAmerica Housing Partnership in Cedar Rapids. Primary work location: 1721 Fifth Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids.
- Cleaning up, washing windows at CSPS, 1103 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids.
- Sorting donations and cleaning equipment at the American Red Cross, 6300 Rockwell Dr. NE, Cedar Rapids.
- Collecting litter and cleaning up trails at Lake Macbride, Solon.
- Cleaning up at Camp Courageous, Monticello
