02 Sep Students Plunge into Volunteerism

Hundreds of Huntington University students plunged into their college experience by volunteering at several places throughout the Huntington community on August 23.

For 15 years, the university’s new students have participated in the Joe Mertz Center’s Volunteer Plunge. This year, 28 teams comprised of more than 350 freshmen and transfer students, 28 mentor students, and 30 faculty worked on projects from 1 to 3 p.m.

The Volunteer Plunge is a part-day of community service held each year in conjunction with Huntington University’s three-day new student orientation.

The teams helped with painting, cleaning out facilities, building maintenance, lawn care, mulching, washing vehicles, socializing with nursing home residents, picking up litter and repairing fences.

Said Grace McBrayer, director of first year students and volunteer service, “A summer’s worth of orchestration culminated as students and staff spread out into the community of Huntington and a bit beyond. Certainly many thanks go to the myriad of people and organizations willing to host our students out in the community, as well as the Joe Mertz Center student staff who worked hard during the days before the plunge to arrange details regarding the vans, work supplies and other logistics.”

Service locations for the 2008 Volunteer Plunge included the Huntington Head Start, YMCA, Bible Baptist Church, Homier Baseball Field, The Church of Our Glorious King, Salamonie Interpretive Center, The Huntington County Chapter of the American Red Cross, Helping Paws, Miller’s Merry Manor, the Huntington County Boys and Girls Club, Salamonie Reservoir, College Park Church, Victory Knoll, Love INC, Pathfinder Services, Forks of the Wabash, Dan Quayle Center, Riverview Middle School, Good Shepherd Church, Huntington Church of the Brethren, Huntington First Church of the Nazarene, Kids Kampus, Springwater Church 509 Ministries, and Habitat for Humanity.

Founded in 1992, the Joe Mertz Center for Volunteer Service has become an integral part of Huntington University campus life. During the 2007-2008 academic year, students, faculty and staff volunteered for more than 12,900 hours, serving families, organizations and programs.

The JMC is a student-directed organization that mobilizes the campus community for Christian service. The JMC aims to involve students in the local community, instill a lifelong tendency toward service and promote the idea that one person can make a difference. The Joe Mertz Center has been listed as an exemplary program in the John Templeton Foundation Honor Roll of Character-Building Colleges.