Joe Mertz Center sponsors Spring Work Day
FOR RELEASE: Monday, April 24, 2006
Huntington, Ind. "Huntington University students volunteered for Spring Work Day on Saturday, April 8, 2006. The event was sponsored by the Joe Mertz Center for Volunteer Service. Two faculty members, two staff members, and 116 students gave of their time " nearly doubling the expected participation for Spring Work Day. The students went to worksites throughout the Huntington community including East Brook Ranch, Head Start, Huntington House, Victory Noll, City of Huntington Parks & Recreation Department and the Huntington University campus.
It was great to see so many students come out and act upon their faith by responding to the Christian responsibility to help those in need, said Joanne Miller, staff advisor to the Joe Mertz Center. We hope to see numbers continue to rise as the Joe Mertz Center continues to teach the priority of service.
Approximately 50 students worked at the Parks Department, the largest number of students ever to go to an individual worksite. The group did maintenance on playground equipment, mulching, painting, clean-up of the parks and fence construction.
This year, we tried to keep people consolidated less sites with more people, said Andrew Graden Stahl, public relations coordinator for the Joe Mertz Center.
Faculty and staff members who participated included Dr. Mary Ruthi, professor of sociology; Dr. Jack Heller, assistant professor of English; Jeremy Rufener, field representative for advancement; and Joanne Miller. The JMC student leaders " Betsey Bean, program coordinator for the blood drives, Habitat for Humanity, Lunch Buddies, and Upward Basketball; Eryn Sawyer, program coordinator for Open Door, Young Life, Connecting Friends, and Power House; Jenny Pettit, student director; and Andrew Graden Stahl, public relations coordinator " also volunteered.
