Students gather for community service day

Buffalo State held its annual Community Service Day on Saturday, where students volunteered at different organizations around the community.

There were 14 different organizations that participated in this service day. Activities ranged from cleaning up parks and planting trees to cleaning and organizing reused materials. There was also the option of preparing meals or even creating a haunted house for children.  

Community Service Day has been happening at Buffalo State for 15 years, said Laura Rao, coordinator of the Volunteer Service Learning Center.  This provides students with an organized way to try out various volunteer opportunities.

"We aim to connect students with local projects in the neighborhood that offer them a variety of choices," Rao said. "Service day is open to students as well as faculty members and is based on community need, and what the organization currently has going on."

   About 260 students preregistered to volunteer, but a turnout of about 150 students participated in this year's event. There are usually about 150-200 students who participate in the fall, and about 250-300 who participate in the spring, Rao said.

There are a few consistent organizations that participate every year including Curtis Urban Farm, also known as CUFF. CUFF has participated for two to three years, Rao said.

This year every site coordinator is a student participating in the college's community service work-study program.

 "I decided to be site coordinator because I have been involved with the Volunteer and Service Learning Center in the past and I thought this would be a great opportunity to work with some great individuals who I haven't met on campus yet and also to make a difference within the community," said John Guzda, site coordinator for Buffalo Reuse.

"I think it benefits Buffalo State students, because not everyone is from Buffalo so the students who may be from New York City actually get to go out in the community, see it first hand, and see the pros and the cons of the community and… have a fun day out with other people on campus."

Students had varied reasons for participating.

"I volunteered today because I volunteer with my sorority," said Quiana- Joy Ochiagha, a student at Buffalo State who worked with a group that was repairing run-down houses. "We volunteer all over, but this is the first time we have done community service where we are helping a nonprofit organization give back to the community by building stuff. I would love to do this again, you get to see them giving back to the community by fixing up their houses, where they have shelter and lay their head down at night."

Organizations say they have benefited from student efforts.

There were tangible results to the work that was done, said Matthew Dore, an employee of Buffalo Reuse.

"It is very difficult being in a not-for-profit world, because we have limited resources," he said. "We have been trying to get the shelf built for two weeks and have not been able to do it so it is with (students) help by coming here that we have been able to get this done. That's a big deal."

"It was really nice working with college students, people picked up on the skills really quick. I enjoyed the connection with Buffalo State students because it is a personal connection," said Dore, a Buffalo State alumnus.

Shari Ingles can be reached by e-mail at ingles.record@live.com