Alvernia students serve 13 sites as part of annual service event
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Nearly 200 students and faculty members from Alvernia University served various organizations throughout Berks County as part of the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.
"The Holleran Center looks forward to this important day of service to honor Dr. King," said Director of the Holleran Center for Community and Global Engagement Dr. Rudy Ruth.
Participants provided service for Berks County organizations including the Phoebe Berks Retirement Community, Helping Harvest, Hope Rescue Mission Thrift Stores, Hopewell Furnace, Habitat for Humanity, Mary's Shelter, Olivet Boys & Girls Club, Reading Area Firefighter’s Museum, Reading City Hall, Reading Pagoda, Reading Science Center and St. Joseph's Villa.
At the Olivet Boys & Girls Club, students partnered with children to prepare nearly a thousand "Olivet-Pax," packs of donated items, that will be distributed to homeless youth throughout the county.
"What an inspirational and amazing day filled with Alvernia students, staff, and alumni working side by side with Olivet Boys and Girls Club children and staff serving others and giving of themselves," said Olivet Boys & Girls Club President and CEO and Alvernia alum Christopher M. Winters '08. "Today, we gave hope to thousands of homeless youth in Berks County. To me as an alum, Alvernia’s culture of service embodies that in serving our fellow men and women, we restore faith, bring forth hope and, most of all, conquer the darkness of despair by shining the light of love for all mankind. Today, MLK Day, that message resonates in the work and deeds of the Alvernia community who stepped forward to serve others and clearly answered King’s question, 'What are you doing for others?'"
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is part of a national initiative of community service and is also one of four traditional Days of Service at Alvernia — where students volunteered 40,000 hours annually. Alvernia’s other annual Days of Service include Freshman Orientation Day in August, St. Francis Day in October, and Earth Day in April.
Alvernia’s individual, group and mass service ventures are coordinated by the university’s Holleran Center for Community and Global Engagement, currently in its 12th year of operation.
