A day dedicated to community service by the community is a great idea. Because we’re all living in the same area, local townspeople and students alike, a large effort to help each other definitely bolsters community morale and strength. Last Saturday, as a group of about 10 people, we traveled to the Greater Ithaca Activities Center. Our goal was to rake, sweep, and discard fallen leaves as well as pull up masses of overgrown weeds from around the main building. Given that the rakes and brooms were in limited supply, these tasks had to be completed by hand (with garden gloves) by the majority. The more physical aspect of these tasks made the work itself more enjoyable as we were able to get up close and personal with the leaves and weeds. Being an Environmental and Sustainability Sciences major, I particularly enjoyed the fact that I was immersed in a more natural environment and able to spend a few hours helping a good cause simply by being outdoors. If we had had more time, I would have liked to stay longer and possibly help inside the building as well.

Knowing that the Greater Ithaca Activities Center is dedicated to providing a a large variety of fun and engaging activities to kids of all ages and backgrounds in the community made the service I did extremely worthwhile. Not only do they host children after school, but they also put together different sports teams, offer tutoring services, and organize unique events related to science or Halloween. After this experience last Saturday, as soon as I can figure out reliable transportation, I would like to volunteer on a regular basis with them doing whatever I can to further their mission of improving the lives of the youth living in greater Ithaca.