It’s always comforting to return to my rural hometown of Holcomb during Columbus Day weekend and remember that autumn actually exists. Although trees line Huntington Avenue and colorful mums sprout around campus, living in Boston makes it difficult to recognize the beauty of fall and the opportunities the season provides.

In high school, fall was a time when students participating in community service groups, either for the school or town, focused on raking leaves for the elderly in the community. As a member of a town volunteer group, I raked leaves into piles (upon piles) on lawns belonging to elderly homeowners or to elderly group homes.

For about a month and a half starting in early October, I woke up at 7:30 a.m. every Saturday, dressed in my grungy “raking clothes” and drove to the first house of the day. Groups of four to seven of my peers raked each lawn, moving onto other yards until noon, when we called it quits until the next weekend.

At the time, the consistent movement of the rake caused soreness in my arms for days. But I knew if my actions were appreciated by even just one homeowner, the deed was worth my sweat.

Although more leaves continued to fall as the season progressed, and hundreds of leaves kept falling years after my presence at those yards, my organization’s deed would fulfill a lifetime of gratitude from the elderly people. When we showed up at the houses, the seniors often had baked chocolate chip cookies for us or had bought soda for the “youngins” who worked all morning just for the mere beauty of their lawns.
Even though many Bostonians do not own large yards filled with oak and maple trees, Northeastern’s Center of Community Service gives students a chance to help out in other ways.

In order to increase and celebrate its partnership with the surrounding communities around Boston like Roxbury, Fenway and Mission Hill, the Center of Community Service hosts two annual service days that involve students, faculty, staff and alumni. One such day is this Saturday.
Whether students simply engage in socializing with elderly people or serve meals at a local shelter, it’s the thought and participation that make it a worthy day. The act of students volunteering will resonate to our neighbors surrounding campus. Instead of lying in bed with the hangover of the century, students can dedicate six hours of the upcoming weekend to improve the community and strengthen ties between Northeastern and its neighbors.

But community service and social activism don’t have to start and end in a single day; make it a semester-long commitment at the least. Northeastern’s Center of Community Service gives students endless opportunities to make a difference in the community: Alternative Spring Breaks focus on a week-long dedication to volunteer service, the Husky Volunteer Team consistently serves communities around Northeastern, volunteer fairs allow students to find ways to help out around the local community, and Jumpstart encourages youth education.
Even student organizations like Best Buddies, which pairs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in one-to-one friendships with college students, allow students to hone their leadership skills, and make a friend in the meantime.

Perhaps like other Northeastern students, I can admit that I have not been as active in community service at college as I was in high school. But that is a realization and regret that I can hopefully — and quickly — change for both community and self-improvement.

– Michele Richinick can be reached at [email protected]