Posted January 20, 2010

Temple University

Classes were not yet in session Monday, but that didn’t stop Temple students and employees from returning to campus early to take part in a number of volunteer opportunities to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

This year, Temple drew more than 150 volunteers — a good mix of students, faculty and staff — to a variety of activities around campus and beyond.

In one of the largest events, a group of more than 35 volunteers from the College of Education, in partnership with CityYear, traveled to Olney High School, at 101 W. Duncannon Ave., to work on a number of beautification projects, from repainting classrooms to organizing libraries.

Betsy Manning/Temple University

Yesene Pitts, left, and her daughter, College of Education senior Kishawn Laws, puts together a bookcase as part of a MLK Day of Service at Olney High School.

"We put out the call for volunteers, and it was very well received," said Tiffany Tavarez, assistant director of alumni affairs at the College of Education. "We're thrilled that so many of our students, faculty and staff wanted to be part of something larger that is about helping other students right in our neighborhood. It's not just service, it's also camaraderie."

Ryan S. Brandenberg/Temple University

Volunteers with Temple's University Community Collaborative of Philadelphia (UCCP) cleaned and painted as part of a project at the Penrose Recreation Center, near Main Campus at 12th Street and Susquehanna Ave.

In addition, volunteers with Temple's University Community Collaborative of Philadelphia (UCCP) held a cleanup project at Penrose Recreation Center, at 12th Street and Susquehanna Avenue; the Department of Nursing hosted a wellness and recreation fair for residents of Grey Manor, an assisted living facility at 8th Street and Cecil B. Moore Ave.; the School of Social Administration held a "knit-in" event on campus in which faculty and staff knitted and crocheted scarves to donate to area shelters; and the Office of Community and Neighborhood Affairs, Temple's Philadelphia LIFT and Temple's Americorp Vista students collected canned goods at the newly opened Fresh Grocer, at Broad and Oxford Streets, to donate to area churches.

Volunteers at the Ambler Campus helped stock shelves and pack food and clothing boxes for disadvantaged families at the Mattie Dixon Community Cupboard in Ambler Borough and also spent time with the residents of the Silver Stream Center in Spring House to support the Crossroads Hospice.

Many students said they were happy to come back a day early to volunteer. Sophomore Tiara Reed, a pre-nursing student, was excited to see that Temple was sending a group of students to Girard College, her alma mater, to help with city-wide projects. She jumped at the opportunity to help, and acted as a greeter, directing volunteers to different opportunities.

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