University of Idaho faculty and students once again donned their green work shirts and committed themselves to a day of charity and service for their community Saturday as part of Serving Your New Community — annual service project sponsored by the ASUI Volunteer Center.
Students who participated in SYNC assisted in landscaping, interior work and general clean up jobs at 29 different locations — including the 1912 Center, Moscow Farmers Market, Goodwill, First Presbyterian Church, Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute and Moscow Community Garden.
This year, more than 600 students participated in the service project. Summer Coordinator Kelly McKanna said the turn out was higher than she anticipated.
“We had over 600 spots, and we ran out of (assignment) cards,” McKanna said. “That’s an awesome turnout.”
After congregating at Theophilus Tower at 9 a.m., the students divided into groups and serviced their assigned locations for approximately three hours. With jobs like pulling weeds, painting or even stocking bookshelves, participants were kept busy.
Thomas Leo, a sophomore who helped out at Moscow Community Garden, said he enjoyed the experience and looks forward to doing more community service with the Volunteer Center.
“It was awesome,” Leo said. “I got to meet all kinds of neat people, share their experiences, where they came from and help out with the community too. It’s a good experience.”
Freshmen Kody Brock and Ryan Piper also assisted at the community garden. Piper said everyone worked well together and even managed to get their work finished early.
Freshman Meghann Hester said the same of her group after returning from her service location at Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute.
“It was really fun,” Hester said. “I love doing community service. I always love it when I’m (able) to help someone.”
Though the event was a success, McKanna said SYNC was not the easiest thing to coordinate.
“(Coordinating was) insane, but it was so great,” McKanna said. “You learn a lot. It’s really neat communicating with the community partners.”
McKanna said that the community and the university were awesome for being so helpful with this project.
McKanna has been with the Department of Student Involvement for two years. Starting this year, she said she will be a student involvement coordinator for leadership programs, which will allow her to work with other student organizations.
SYNC occurs annually as part of New Student Orientation on the Saturday before the first day of the fall semester. This year showcased the fourth SYNC event.
Andrew Jenson can be reached at [email protected]