Meal packing, campus beautification projects slated for Maine Day, May 3
University of Maine students, faculty and staff will take part in Maine Day, the annual campuswide spring cleanup tradition, on Wednesday, May 3.
UMaine community members will complete service projects aimed at sprucing up the campus, enjoy a free barbecue, and set a meal-packing record.
Festivities will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a parade featuring student organizations, residence hall groups, fraternities and sororities, as well as faculty and staff. The parade will start at the Hilltop area and travel around campus before ending on the Mall.
Those participating in the parade are encouraged to follow this year’s Harry Potter theme. Parade registration is online until 5 p.m. Monday, May 1.
Prizes will be awarded for the best campus department and student organization parade entries. Department winners will get the opportunity to attend a men’s ice hockey game in the skybox of Robert Dana, UMaine’s vice president for student life and dean of students. The best student organization will receive $200 from Student Life to be used for an event of their choice during the fall semester.
After the parade, volunteers will take part in more than 70 projects, including raking, planting flowers, picking up litter and painting at various locations on and around campus. New projects this year include preparing a donation of firewood for the Waldo County Woodshed at the University Forest Field Office on College Avenue, and The Hungry 100K: Maine Day Meal Pack-out in the Memorial Gym.
The goal of The Hungry 100K, which is organized by UMaine’s Honors College Student Advisory Board, is to pack 100,000 meals — about 5.5 tons of food — to be given to local food banks and community organizations that feed the hungry.
Organizers say they will set a record for the most meals packed in a single UMaine event and in a single day in Maine. By completing The Hungry 100K, UMaine is expected to surpass Harvard University and set the record for the most meals packed by any school in New England.
A list of projects, including The Hungry 100K, is available on the Bodwell Center for Service and Volunteerism website. Volunteers are still needed for many projects, including The Hungry 100K. Online registration ends May 1. In-person registration for remaining projects will be available beginning at 9 a.m. May 3 on the Mall (or in the Memorial Union in the event of rain).
Projects will continue until the annual Maine Day barbecue takes place in the Steam Plant Lot from noon to 1 p.m. The rain locations for the barbecue are Hilltop Dining, Wells Central and York Dining.
Several student organization philanthropy events will take place in the lot from noon to 3 p.m. Activities include the Alpha Delta oozeball — mud volleyball — championship, Sophomore Owls’ band showcase, the Delta Tau Delta car bash, UMaine football team’s bone marrow drive, Golden Key International Honour Society’s dunk tank, Alpha Omicron Pi and Pi Kappa Phi pie-in-the-face booths, and the St. Baldrick’s head-shaving event hosted by UMaine Circle K.
President Arthur Hauck first inaugurated Maine Day in 1935. It is traditionally held on the last regular Wednesday of the spring semester. Classes with three or more weekly meetings are canceled to allow students to participate in volunteerism.
Funding for Maine Day is provided by the University of Maine President’s Office, Division of Student Life, Vice President for Administration and Finance, Facilities Management and Black Bear Dining.
More information about Maine Day is online.
Contact: Elyse Catalina, 207.581.3747