Joe Mertz Center Plans Volunteer Day
HUNTINGTON, IN Tuesday, July 16, 1996 -- The Joe Mertz Center for Volunteer Service at Huntington College will hold its annual Super Service Saturday April 20th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The spring work day will involve students, faculty and staff in a variety of volunteer projects around Huntington County.
Olivia McElhaney will lead a work team to Thornhill Nature Preserve. In conjunction with other Earth Day observances, the group will spend the morning clearing trails, cutting brush, and preparing the facility for summer activities for community school children. McElhaney is a junior psychology major from Marion, Indiana.
Jodi Traynor will organize another team to work with Habitat for Humanity's ongoing efforts in Huntington. Volunteers will work on houses and grounds at the construction site on Frederick Street. Traynor is a senior from Naperville, Illinois, pursuing a degree in educational ministries.
Aaron Wells, a sophomore from Webberville, Michigan, will lead a third team to Victory Noll Convent. Volunteers will clear trails along the "Way of the Cross," plant flowers, and do yardwork. Wells is pursuing a degree in recreation management from Huntington College.
Dee Dee Addison will organize a fourth volunteer team on Saturday. Her group will travel to Fort Wayne where they will help Love Church members with their annual community garage sale. College volunteers will also help with the cleaning and upkeep of the church building.
McElhaney and Traynor serve as student co-directors of the Joe Mertz Center. Wells will serve as assistant student director of the volunteer center next year. Addison, a residence hall director at Huntington College and the staff liaison to the student-run volunteer center, reports that the campus community has already contributed 8,747 hours of volunteer service this year.
"This is significantly ahead of last year's record of 7,002 hours, and we are knocking on the door of our 10,000-hour goal," says Addison. "We are thrilled about the kinds of things that our students have been involved in both through the JMC programs and also through their own individual initiatives."
"It truly shows the caliber of students we have at HC and their willingness to reach out to their community," she added. "While the Joe Mertz Center organizes many events and projects, it is the students and the faculty who put hands and feet to Christ's love that makes those projects possible!"
