Welcome Weekend Day of Service
August 27, 2011
56 Projects took place both on campus and in the community.
800 First Year Students participated.
72 Trip Leaders led projects (21 staff & faculty and 51 upperclass students)
Feedback from the participants, the leaders and the organizations has been extremely positive. It takes a long time to get that many students on to busses and off to their sites. We appreciate everyone’s patience and feedback. We look forward to improving again next year!
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The 2nd Annual Welcome Weekend Day of Service will take place on Saturday, August 27, 2011. The intent of the program is to introduce the incoming first year students to each other and to the community. Students are assigned to projects based on their residential area, and they are given an opportunity to work side-by-side with other students they have just met and will be spending the rest of the year with. Project Leaders, made up of staff, faculty and student leaders, work with each group to initiate teamwork, conversation, and camaraderie. While at the site, a member from the community organization speaks with the group to share information about their organization, who they serve, and what their volunteer needs are.
It is our hope that these students will be engaged earlier than students in past years, and they will continue their involvement in service throughout their education at UMaine.
In 2010 approximately 800 students participated in 46 projects led by 27 staff and 63 student leaders.
Organizations being visited this year include: Adoptive & Foster Families of Maine, Bangor Area Homeless Shelter, Bangor Community Garden, Bangor Goodwill Store, Bangor Land Trust, Boy Scouts of America (Katahdin Area Council), Brewer Parks & Recreation, Challenger Learning Center, Coldbrook Equestrian Center, Cole Land Transportation Museum, Crossroads Resource Center, DEEMI Search & Rescue, Food & Medicine, Green House Nursery School, Hirundo Wildlife Refuge, Old Town Knights of Columbus, Leonard’s Mills, Maine Audubon Society – Fields Pond, Maine Discovery Museum, Maine Veterans Home, First United Methodist Church (Bangor), Old Town Learning Center, Old Town YMCA, Orono Bog Boardwalk, Orono High School, Orono Land Trust, Page Farm & Home Museum, Phillips-Strickland House, Ronald McDonald House, Ross Manor, Spruce Run, Stillwater Montessori School, Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Town of Veazie, Wilson Center, and the list is growing every day!
Special thanks to Cyr Bus Company who helps to transport all of our students and leaders to these projects. Their support is critical to the success of the Day of Service!
For more information about the Welcome Weekend Day of Service, please contact Lisa Morin, Bodwell Center Coordinator, at 581-4194 or lisa.morin@umit.maine.edu.
