The Observer, September 21, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 4
Students get more chances to give back to community
Today, students, faculty, and staff will engage in community service projects as part of the fifth annual Case for Community Day.
The event, traditionally held on a Wednesday, is being held during Community Hour this year at the request of many students who were unable to participate in projects due to classes. Many projects are also shorter, fitting into the 90-minute lull between classes. "For students who didn't have an entire afternoon, we looked for ways for everyone to be engaged," said Latisha James, director of the Center for Community Partnerships, which sponsored the event.
To this end, several campus drives have been arranged to allow students to give back to the community without going any farther than Thwing. Students can participate in one of several donation drives taking place in the building. Donations of nonperishable food will be accepted for the Cleveland Foodbank, new bras for Bras for Africa, gently-used accessories for Dress for Success, and school supplies for Miles Elementary and Captain Arthur Roth schools. The Red Cross will host a blood drive in the 1914 Lounge.
James hopes that students will help make the donation drives successful. "Donating is an essential and very important role that students can play."
Those who registered for the official projects will volunteer their time landscaping, gardening, painting, and cleaning in various neighborhood locations around campus.
The dental, nursing, and medical schools will participate in the event by providing free health screenings to area residents. The dental school will teach oral health education to third- through fifth-graders in the Cleveland school system.
Area youth will also be served by Case's athletic department, which will host sports clinics all day for 300 students from local schools.
"Not only are we going to the community, but we're inviting the community to our campus," said James.
Case for Community Day is just one of the ways that Case provides service to the area. According to James, the university has nearly 600 community partners and participates in over 500 community outreach programs in nine local school districts.
