Second annual President’s Day of Service held

Second annual President’s Day of Service held

By KATHERINE SIMEON · The Johns Hopkins News-Letter · October 7, 2010

Last Saturday, members from all ranks of the Hopkins community — from undergraduates to faculty — combined forces and took Baltimore by storm, taking part in the President’s Day of Service.

“Today marks an opportunity to be part of the community,” President Ronald Daniels said as he addressed the volunteers at the beginning of the event. “I’m so proud of you all for being here on a Saturday.”

With 944 people registered for the event, hundreds of people crowded the recreation center to volunteer at 45 organizations all over Baltimore.

“This was the most successful event thus far in terms of how smoothly the event was run and the how the volunteers responded to their service assignments,” Director of the Center for Social Concern Bill Tiefenwerth remarked.

Center for Social Concern staff member Susan Chase likewise noted the enthusiasm the students who were involved showed.

“When I told a group of volunteers at a nursing home that it was time to board the van at 4 p.m., some said that they’d rather stay for additional time with the residents,” Chase said. “The President’s Day Service is designed to get the Hopkins community passionate about service, and to continue to pursue the work well beyond this Saturday. We have confidence that the goal was achieved.”

The President’s Day of Service started last year when Daniels asked for a day devoted to community service to be included in his inaugural weekend. This event replaced INVOLVED, a community service day for just freshmen during orientation which has been ongoing for the past 15 years.

This year, by opening up the Day of Service to the entire university community and moving the date of the event later relative to last year’s, more than just freshmen participated in the event.

Although only 278 freshmen took part in the event this year compared to 570 last year, 25 faculty and staff members joined this year compared to 19 last year, 243 sophomores compared to 167 last year, 152 juniors compared to last year’s 96, and 146 seniors compared to 88 participating last year. Graduate students had the biggest increase in participants with 65 students in comparison to last year’s 26.

One of the best parts of the event is that it makes the act of volunteering and the Baltimore community at large more accessible to students. Junior Jackie Ferguson, who attended the Day of Service this year, commented, “volunteering in Baltimore is difficult because of transportation and security. The Day of Service puts you with Hopkins students and guarantees safety. It’s nice.”

The President’s Day of Service connected students with various organizations from the American Red Cross, with schools and retirement homes, and with gardens and outdoor facilities throughout Baltimore.

With so many different ways to serve the community, Daniels’ wife Joanne Rosen addressed the volunteers by saying, “what you take will far exceed anything you ever give.”

The participants recognized the truth in these words. Mary Catherine Fanning, a junior who volunteered at the Maryland SPCA as a team leader, loved helping out and playing with the puppies at the pet adoption center.

As a team leader, she also enjoyed the “behind-the-scenes” action she was involved with. “Everyone was very friendly and grateful. I felt appreciated,” she said.

Daniels made the most of this day devoting his time to many of the 45 organizations that the participants worked with.

“President Daniels walks the walk in terms of community service and development,”

Tiefenwerth said. “[He] had a full calendar on Saturday with other commitments and appointments that went back months and months.

He made it a priority to clear a good portion of his schedule so that he could participate in not just one event, but at three service sites . . . The President also made it a Daniels family event, as his wife Joanne spoke movingly at the kick-off in the rec center.”

A student-run committee, chaired by senior Saharsh Patel and advised by Gia Grier McGinnis, Assistant Director of the Center for Social Concern, spearheaded the efforts to plan the Day of Service. Although Patel and Mcginnis have been running a service event for the past 15 years with INVOLVED, this was the first year that the Student Government Association (SGA) co-sponsored the event, in an effort to get as much of the student community involved as possible.

Overall, the President’s Day of Service was certainly successful in bringing more of the community together and has established itself as a Hopkins tradition. Tiefenwerth remarked, “from my vantage point, it is Hopkins at its best!”