Service Day

New Student Orientation (NSO) Service Day took place Saturday, August 28, bringing together Cornell College students, faculty, and staff to partake in various community service projects in Mount Vernon and the surrounding area.
There were 300 new students involved, 33 returning students, and 24 faculty/staff advisors for a total of 357 participants who contributed 928 hours of service work in one morning. The students helped various organizations and philanthropic causes; the NSO Service Day sites included Block By Block, Camp Io-Dis-E-Ca, Cedar Valley Humane Society, Habitat for Humanity, Hallmark Care Center, Lake MacBride, Matthew 25 Ministry Hub, Palisades-Kepler State Park, and Pictured Rocks.

Cornellians participated in projects such as picking up litter on nature trails, gardening and landscaping assistance, playing bingo with senior citizens, rebuilding flood victims’ homes, cleaning-up summer camp sites, and several  other tasks at their service sites.  New students were able to genuinely connect with each other as they served to give back to their newly adopted community.