KENNESAW, Ga. | Mar 25, 2019

Volunteers team up to give back

Nearly 500 members of the Kennesaw State University campus and surrounding community spent their Saturday morning volunteering as part of the university’s sixth annual Day of Service, visiting 20 work sites across metro Atlanta.

The Office of Community Engagement founded the Day of Service in 2014 and in recent years has collaborated with the Department of Student Leadership and Service, pairing approximately 1,800 students, faculty and staff with work projects at schools, parks, nonprofit organizations and other community sites. Organizers say the event provides an opportunity for members of the campus give back to the larger community which supports it, and to foster a culture of service that continues to be a focal point of Kennesaw State’s identity.

Each Day of Service event represents the culmination of a year’s worth of planning by a committee of representatives from throughout the university, co-chaired this year by Kimberly Henghold, assistant director for the Office of Community Engagement, and Ryan Keesee, assistant director of civic engagement for the Department of Student Leadership and Service.

“I cannot tell you how amazing it is to see the way the event has grown over the years,” Henghold said. “It gets larger every year, with more volunteers and agencies served in 2019 than ever before. This is a wonderful testament to our KSU students.”

Volunteer activities this year included trail maintenance at Kennesaw Mountain, planting a school garden at Palmer Middle School, sorting donations at Foster Care Support Foundation in Roswell and general ground maintenance at Piedmont Park in Atlanta. KSU buses carried volunteers to and from many of the work sites.

The large majority of event participation this year came from undergraduate students, many of whom were participating in the event for the first time. They included economics student Chris McCall, recipient of the 2019 Ralph Rascati Outstanding PEGS Student Award, who spent his Day of Service at Simple Needs GA, a nonprofit organization supporting children in need and people experiencing homelessness.

“I enjoy doing it and I like helping people out,” McCall said. “It gives me a sense of accomplishment and a good feeling in my heart.”

– Thomas Dale

Photos by David Caselli

 

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 45,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.