Washington College Students Will Be "Into The Streets" For Volunteer Community Service, August 27

Chestertown, MD, August 13, 2004 — On Friday, August 27, Washington College will hold its sixth annual “Into the Streets” day of community service. The College's new first-year students, led by peer mentors and joined by newly appointed President Baird Tipson and faculty and staff volunteers, will be organized into 26 teams to assist in community, environmental and human service projects throughout the Mid-Shore.

“Washington College is very closely tied to its community and to the environment of our region,” said Vicky Sawyer, Associate Director of Career Development and Overseer of Service Learning at Washington College. “‘Into the Streets' has been a great way to give our students a sense of responsibility for the needs of our local community and for the communities in which they will eventually reside after college. They learn that their actions and initiative make a difference in the lives of other people.”

The 26 student teams will participate in a variety of projects on the Mid-Shore. This year's service sites include the Adkins Arboretum, Tuckahoe State Park, Camp Fairlee Manor, Chesapeake Environmental Center, Chestertown Cemetery, Chestertown Community Food Pantry, Chester River Manor, Crimson Stables, Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, Echo Hill Outdoor School, Humane Society of Kent County, Kent County Parks and Recreation, Kent Association for Riding Therapy, Kent Family Center, Prince Theatre, Rock Hall Community, Women In Need and Wye Island Refuge.

“We encourage other community organizations to contact us if they have need of our student volunteers for next year's ‘Into the Streets',” Sawyer added.

The “Into the Streets” Day of Service was conceived by two Washington College alumni, Katie Preen '00 and Gia Grier '02, while students. With ideas for student volunteerism inspired by a 1999 Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL) Conference, Preen and Grier worked with Sawyer to develop service learning programs on and off campus for Washington College students. Together they created “Into the Streets” to introduce incoming freshman and transfer students to their new home and to provide a day to experience the variety of ways that they can contribute their time and talents to the community.

For more information on “Into the Streets,” or if you represent a community organization in need of student volunteers, contact Vicky Sawyer at 410-778-7892.