Students participated in activities ranging from raking leaves to cleaning up a park this past weekend as part of Emory Cares Day, an annual, joint community service effort between Volunteer Emory and the Emory Alumni Association (EAA).
According to College senior and Volunteer Emory Co-Director Rachel Cawkwell, Emory Cares Day is Emory's largest day of service. Renelda Mack ('83C), who led the effort to establish an alumni day of service, founded the service day in 2003.
This year, projects included maintaining outdoor trails and working on a farm to writing messages to children in the hospital.
In 2012, Emory Cares Day had 1,848 volunteers for 70 projects in 35 cities and five countries, according to the Volunteer Emory website. The website states that the service day's mission is to collaborate with agents of change for service projects and social justice work that promote learning about self and society.
"It's a great opportunity to meet new people and even learn about potential career pathways in non-profits," Cawkwell said.
Some volunteers went to Kittredge Park in Atlanta on Emory Cares Day, where they teamed up with the Friends of Kittredge Park to remove invasive species and beautify the park. Friends of Kittredge Park is an organization founded by residents in the communities that surround the 30-acre park in DeKalb County.
Alan Pinsker, 53, is one of the members of Friends of Kittredge Park who guided Emory Volunteers.
"The ultimate goal is to make this a pleasant escape from the urban aspects of the area and enjoy an unspoiled natural environment that is right in the heart of DeKalb County," Pinsker said.
Pinsker said the park was overgrown and had many invasive species. The initial mission of Friends of Kittredge Park was to make the trail accessible.
It was difficult to navigate the park because there was a large squatter population and trash everywhere, Pinsker said.
"We could not achieve what we are doing today if it were not for volunteers," Pinsker said. "Emory is among the most valued volunteers to come and do this."
According to Cawkwell, Volunteer Emory also provides leadership opportunities for students, as each project is led by one or more "project leaders," or Emory students who undergo a several-week training period in order to coordinate the trips.
College sophomore Andrew Block was a project leader for the Kittredge Park 2013 Emory Cares Day trip. Block said Kittredge Park has been a Volunteer Emory location in the past and that the park has been improving each year.
"It's very rewarding because you get to invite a lot of friends to a community service trip that they normally wouldn't do," Block said. "You can connect a bunch of different friend groups."
According to Venus Miller, the coordinator for regional volunteer programs at the EAA, the EAA has been expanding in the United States as well as abroad.
The EAA was able to get eight chapters confirmed internationally, Miller said. She added that last year, it had four or five projects internationally, and the numbers for this year's projects have grown significantly.
Cawkwell said Wendy Rosenberg ('82C) and Debbie Genzer ('82C) founded Volunteer Emory in 1980 in an effort to connect individuals to service opportunities in Atlanta.
Volunteer Emory has expanded to offer 25 different group service projects every week, five alternative breaks each fall and spring break and several large days of service.
"Emory students and staff are so into community service," Miller said. "Even outside Emory Cares, Volunteer Emory is always doing service trips year-round. Giving back to the community is what the Emory community represents."
– By Brandon Fuhr
