OTTERBEIN COLLEGE VOLUNTEERS PLUNGE INTO SERVICE
More than 240 Otterbein College freshmen will serve 21 Columbus-area community agencies during the Center for Community Engagement’s 17th-annual fall community plunge on Saturday, September 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. as part of the New Student Weekend.
Otterbein’s new president Kathy Krendl will be volunteering with the incoming class of 2013 as she welcomes them on their journey of service through their Otterbein tenure. “Our Freshman Plunge is a great introduction to Otterbein for entering students,” said Krendl. “We ask them to pledge an hour of service each week throughout their first year at Otterbein College. The experience of serving others is integral to Otterbein’s history and mission. We hope that by introducing students to service experiences early in their undergraduate careers, we will help them develop a lifetime habit of serving their community.”
The fall plunge is also an opportunity for new students to build a new community of their own, to connect with classmates and community members. Volunteering is a great way to meet new people while serving for a greater cause and participants receive a free T-shirt.
Registration for the event begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Campus Center, 100 W. Home St., Westerville. Students are encouraged to pre-register by emailing cce@otterbein.edu.
Most of the activities at the fall plunge improve the community through environmental work and organizing community resources. At Homeless Families Foundation, volunteers will be landscaping, painting, and cleaning the warehouse and apartments. At Goodwill Columbus, volunteers will collect, hang and sort donations. Students assisting Community Kitchen, Inc. will prepare, serve and clean up meals as well as sort and fold clothing.
Agencies participating in the plunge also include The American Red Cross, Columbus Cancer Clinic, Concord Counseling, COSI, Dreams on Horseback, FACT, Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland, Harbor Light Hospice, Hawthorne Elementary, Holy Family Soup Kitchen, Humane Society of Delaware County, McKendree UMC, Open Shelter, Inc., Otterbein Lake Project, UM Free Store, Village of Minerva Park, WasteNot Center, and YWCA.
For more information and programming updates, visit the Center for Community Engagement Web site at www.otterbein.edu/cce. The fall community plunge is funded in part by Learn and Serve America, administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which also oversees AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, VISTA, and NCCC. The Corporation improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov/.
