Submitted by The Evergreen State College
Every September for the last 26 years, The Evergreen State College has sent 50-150 incoming first-year students to various Thurston County nonprprofits for a day of volunteer service. This year, on Friday, September 25, the tradition continues.
The last six years have seen a flourishing partnership between the college’s “Community to Community” day and The United Way’s 23-year old “Day of Caring,” in which the local chapter of the national organization sends more than 700 volunteers to over 40 nonprofits on the same day.
The Evergreen crew will join United Way volunteers at several sites, among them Family Support Center, Thurston County Food Bank, Nisqually Land Trust and more. Community to Community is run by Evergreen’s Center for Community Based Learning (CCBLA), whose mission is to promote student learning in the community by connecting academic programs, students and faculty with community organizations. According to CCBLA Director, Ellen Shortt-Sanchez, Evergreen will partner with nonprofits inside and outside the United Way scope on September 25, including Books to Prisoners, Cielo Project, Interfaith Works and Tumwater Stream Team. The United Way lists education, health and economic self-sufficiency as its goals; Evergreen adds environmental and social justice.
The incoming freshmen move into their dorms and off-campus apartments a week before classes start, to attend orientation activities. Community to Community is an optional orientation activity, said Shortt-Sanchez. “For students, it is part of them getting to know this new community; this way, they are giving back right from the start.” She notes that the activity is a way for new students to get acquainted and socialize. They also meet students from St. Martins University, who participate in Day of Caring.
The partnering nonprofit organizations don’t just put students to work, said Shortt-Sanchez. “The students have a chance to hear about the organization – what it does, what it’s about,” she said. “And some students go back to those organizations, to volunteer or do an internship later on.”
Evergreen espouses a culture of service and civic engagement; more than 70% of students and graduates surveyed in a recent economic impact study say they have volunteered in the Olympia area, and students did more than 300 internships in Thurston County during the 2014-15 academic year.
