Students Band Together for Day of Community Service


PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - 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, benefitting 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 pome3316@mail.plattsburgh.edu.