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| Spring Cleaning and Volunteering |
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| By Richard Templeton | ||
| June 2009 | ||
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In early April, members of the Rockefeller Volunteer Service Organization (RVSO)1 encouraged the campus to clean out their cupboards and empty their closets for the RVSO Spring Cleaning Food and Goods Drive. The RU community donated over 400 pounds of food to City Harvest2 and scores of clothes, books, DVDs, toiletries, and other merchandise to Goodwill.3  Image provided by the author During the drive, we also recruited about a dozen people to join us in Hands On New York Day, a day of volunteering organized by New York Cares, which took place on Saturday, April 25. We painted an office and a classroom at the Future Leaders Institute4 (FLI), a charter school in Harlem. Despite an initial limit in supplies (two brushes for twelve people was a bit of a logistical problem) and issues with balance (one of us stumbled off a counter, another broke a vase, and I nearly face-planted into a vat of yellow paint), we finished the paint jobs and had a great time doing it. Most importantly, the FLI employees were ecstatic and extremely thankful that their rooms got some much-needed work. Other RU people also participated in different Hands On New York activities including a clean-up of Tompkins Square Park. In addition, we raised $500 for New York Cares, a non-profit that “meets pressing community service needs by mobilizing caring New Yorkers in volunteer service.”5 References 1. Richard Templeton, “A Call to Service” Natural Selections, Issue 58. (2009) |
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