Project SERVE

Greetings! Classes have begun and first-years are getting used to many new things from taking classes with 300 other people to doing their own laundry. In the mix of it all, there are many activities that have been held to welcome the new students to Grounds including Opening Convocation, the Student Activities Fair, and the annual Tom DeLuca's Hypnotist show.

As part of this mix, there was Project SERVE, which was a one-day service project held this past Saturday. Project SERVE is an annual event with two main purposes: to introduce incoming students (yes, that includes transfers!) to service learning opportunities at UVa while creating a venue to build new friendships among like-minded volunteers. It has to be held on a Saturday due to classes and early in the morning (9AM!) to accommodate the sites, but check out the turn out we had(the free breakfast doesn't hurt though)!



This year, we had close to 30 sites all over Charlottesville including local parks, nursing homes, schools, and non-profit agencies. To the left are two students who are taking part in a car wash to benefit the Sexual Assault Resource Agency. After the sites were done with their projects, we invited them to come back on Grounds to attend ServiceFest which is an annual activities fair held specifically for service oriented organizations such as Global Medical Bridges, FACE AIDS activism, and Madison House, our student volunteer center. Below are some pictures post-project as sites are reflecting on their service and enjoying some yummy pizza and cookies!