By Jillian Orlando
Rain in New England is not an unusual occurrence, but last Saturday it cost the city some important cleanup efforts.
The 8th Annual Northeastern University Service Day was set for Saturday, but due to weather conditions the major events involving outdoor cleanup were canceled.
Six hundred and fifty students signed up to go into areas of the city that neighbor Northeastern and serve the community, according to Kristen Williams, a middler international affairs major. Williams worked on the event as part of her co-op position at the NU’s Center of Government Relations and Community Affairs.
“We’re doing a lot of things for basically this area around Northeastern, so it’s important for [students] to stay connected to it because we infringe on the surrounding neighborhoods,” Williams said.
The major events scheduled Saturday were the cleanup project in the East and West Fenway, lower Roxbury, and Mission Hill areas. Williams said that the events may be rescheduled later in May or early June, but a date has not been confirmed. Despite the rainy weather, students participating in indoor service activities were still able to volunteer and serve the city. These students met in the Curry Student Center at 9 a.m. for a continental breakfast and registration.
Many campus groups choose to get involved with NU Service Day to show their support for school and community. Some of the groups present on Saturday were Lambda Kappa Sigma, the Pharmacy Professional Organization, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and the Alpha Kappa Sigma fraternity.
“We’re a fraternity and part of the requirements of being a fraternity is helping the community out so we figured NU Service Day is a good way to help,” said Jason Brown of AKS.
One hundred students participated in the remaining four volunteer projects: Project Bread, Little Brothers, AIDS Action Committee and Community Servings. Students helped Project Bread prepare for the Walk For Hunger by making the bagged snacks given to all the walkers.
“I’ve done the NU Service Day every year and I think it’s a great cause,” said Nicole B. Russo, president of the Northeastern Chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars which participated in the Project Bread program.
The Little Brothers project, a program where volunteers spend time with elderly members of the community, included remodeling their offices. Another project included helping the AIDS Action Committee prepare for the Aids Walk, and students also helped make food for Community Servings which delivers hot meals to people with AIDS in Boston.
Robert P. Gittens, who was named vice president of Public Affairs at Northeastern last February after a nearly 10-month search to fill the position, spoke to the volunteers before sending them out to the community for their projects.
“What you are doing today is part of your commitment as Northeastern University students to make sure that our surrounding community is a better place for people to work and to live,” he said.
