Area streets to fill Saturday with student volunteers
April 10, 2002
KALAMAZOO -- In what has become an annual rite of spring, hundreds of Western Michigan University students will pour "Into the Streets" Saturday, April 13, to volunteer on a variety of projects from cleanup and beautification to assisting with an annual bowling tournament.
Into the Streets is organized by Student Volunteer Services in WMU's Lee Honors College, in collaboration with the Greek community as part of the annual Greek Week celebration. The volunteer program matches student organizations with community agencies that need large groups for one-day projects. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, more than 925 students will donate their time to nearly 30 organizations.
"Into the Streets is an opportunity for student groups to show they care," says WMU's Kristi Zimmerman-Frost, coordinator of student volunteer services. "The community really appreciates the cleanup, painting and other work that gets done. Think of it: in one day, our students put more than 3,700 volunteer hours into making Southwest Michigan a better place."
Unless otherwise noted, all volunteer activities will take place between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sites, tasks and the WMU groups serving them include:
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kalamazoo, 915 Lake St.; preparing a meal or staging an event; Eta Eta Sigma
Boy Scouts of America, Rota Kiwan Reservation, 6278 Texas Drive; spring cleaning, including power washing, bench repair, raking and picnic table repair; Reserve Officer Training Corps and Sigma Phi Epsilon
Discovery Center, 4102 W. Michigan Ave.; replenishing wood chips and painting bicycles; Alpha Tau Omega
Ecumenical Senior Center, 702 Burdick St.; raking leaves and cutting branches, small trees and bushes; Sigma Nu
Edison Neighborhood Association, 1331 Race St.; performing cleanup and beautification projects; Sigma Phi Epsilon and Delta Zeta
Hackett Catholic Central High School, 1000 West Kilgore Ave.; cleaning up grounds, including sweeping curb lines, picking up trash and raking leaves; Delta Chi
The Hilltoppers, WMU Prospect Hill, East Campus; removing brush from historic Prospect Hill; Tau Kappa Epsilon, Delta Sigma Phi, Chi Omega, Alpha Omicron Pi
Housing Resources Inc., 345 N. Burdick St.; performing cleanup and beautification of Rickman House's front porch and yard; Phi Sigma Kappa
Interfaith Homes, 1037 Interfaith Blvd., helping to clean up grounds, including pulling weeds and painting play equipment; Alpha Phi
Kalamazoo Area Academic Achievement Program, Eastland Bowl, 5570 Gull Road, 1:30-4 p.m.; helping with annual bowl-a-thon; Phi Sigma Pi
Kalamazoo County Child Abuse and Neglect Council, various locations, call Jan Middlemas at (616) 552-4430; collecting donations; Alpha Sigma Phi, Delta Gamma, Alpha Lambda Delta, Alpha Xi Delta
Kalamazoo Friends Meeting, 508 Denner; performing spring cleanup in park and playground, including spreading fresh sand and gravel under play equipment; Greek Week Planning Committee
Kalamazoo Handicappers United, various locations, call Claudine Liesinger at (616) 349-0058; carrying out a variety of projects, including wheelchair and furniture repair, cleaning a garage, sorting clothing and building wheelchair ramps; Alpha Tau Omega and Sigma Lambda Gamma
Kalamazoo Nature Center, 7000 N. Westnedge Ave.; planting or painting; Sigma Nu
Lakeside Treatment & Learning Center, 3921 Oakland Drive; cleaning up the grounds and the recreation center; Delta Chi
Merrill Residence, 475 W. Lovell St.; planting an herb garden and scrubbing dining room chairs; Phi Sigma Kappa
Metron of Kalamazoo, 1430 Alamo; assisting with group activities for Alzheimer's and dementia patients; Delta Gamma
Members of the media who wish to interview or photograph student volunteers are welcome to go directly to the sites listed in this release. However, to confirm times and locations, they are encouraged to call Kristi Zimmerman Frost at (269) 387-3230 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week or between 10 a.m. and noon on Saturday.
Media contact: Jessica English, 269 387-8400, jessica.english@wmich.edu