270 students, faculty, and staff from the College of the Holy Cross, including Rev. Philip Boroughs, S.J., president of the College, participated in the 17th annual Holy Cross Cares Day on Saturday, March 29. Service activities by the volunteers included painting, raking and picking up trash at schools, churches, and parks throughout the City of Worcester. Holy Cross Cares Day is a completely student-organized event.
“Seeing the numbers of students and faculty who volunteered to help the community for a few hours made me very proud to be one of the organizers for this event,” said Holy Cross Cares Day co-chair Yarlennys Villaman ‘14. “In fact, sometimes, we feel that the smallest things we do for others don’t seem enough, but to them it means the world; by the end of this event, team leaders were telling me how happy the site coordinators were to have Holy Cross students helping them out. City Councilor Sarai Rivera said in her speech before the students were dispersed to their sites, ‘Don't measure greatness by society's standards.’ I’m proud our students keep serving our school mission to be men and women for and with others by helping the community around us.”
“It was an honor to help pass on the tradition in its 17th year of service,” said co-chair Lisa Hua ‘14. “It was my intention to help organize an event that did not seek recognition, but gave the Worcester community and the Holy Cross community a day to be in solidarity with each other. Small tasks like picking up trash, painting churches, and stuffing envelopes became more than just a chore this day because we were all working together to do these things.”
In addition to the student event, alumni have participated or will participate in Holy Cross Cares Day through volunteer efforts in their local communities throughout March and April. Alumni in Mass. are participating at sites in Worcester, Boston and Dorchester; other regional sites include cities in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Illinois, Georgia, and Florida. Read more about these projects on the alumni website.
This year, Holy Cross volunteers were divided between the following Worcester sites:
- Boys and Girls Club of Worcester (65 Tainter St.)
- Canal District (McKeon Rd.)
- Crompton Park (South Worcester)
- Greater Worcester Land Trust (clearing a nature trail in Green Hill Park)
- Habitat for Humanity (11 Distributor Rd.)
- Jeremiah’s Inn (1059 Main St.)
- Notre Dame du Lac Assisted Living (555 Plantation St.)
- South High School - Andy’s Attic (170 Apricot St.)
- St. Mary’s High School (50 Richland St.)
- Zion Lutheran Church (41 Whitmarsh Ave.)
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