The event will kick off at the University’s Art Quad at 8 a.m. HSU volunteers will join volunteers from the community to take part in the day of service. Hands-on projects for the Day of Caring include dune restoration, emergency food box preparation, community gardening, native plant habitat restoration, painting and organizing at various community agencies.
“Day of Caring draws in students who are often very busy and can’t give a full year of service,” said Jyl Barnett, project coordinator at HSU’s Service Learning Center. “This event allows students to get to know the community and make connections with organizations that can help foster their personal growth.”
The diverse community projects start at 9 a.m. and finish at noon. Volunteers will be treated to a Thank You Barbecue picnic at Sequoia Park in Eureka at 12:15 p.m. The picnic is central to the Day of Caring tradition and will again be organized and sponsored by local Kiwanis Club Chapters: Downtown Eureka, Henderson Center and Humboldt Bay.
Some of the work sites throughout the county include Arcata House, California State Parks, Food for People, Friends of the Dunes, HSU’s Natural History Museum, the Humboldt Bay Housing Development Corporation, Humboldt Domestic Violence Services, the Manila Community Services District, United Indian Health Services, Girl Scouts of the Sierra Cascade, Jacoby Creek Land Trust, and more.
“There’s a nice variety of work sites where people can get together and be away from a desk and computer and have fun serving the community,” Barnett said.
During the first Day of Caring in 1994, 150 volunteers participated in 15 local projects. This year, over 400 volunteers, including many HSU students, will carry on a tradition that emphasizes what can be accomplished when the community and the University work together. The HSU Service Learning Center, the United Way of Humboldt County and the Volunteer Center of the Redwoods are coordinating the event.
For more information, or to take part in Day of Caring, contact Jyl Barnett at the HSU Service Learning Center at (707) 826-4963 or jmb137@humboldt.edu.