Drinko Center Sponsors Westminster Cares Day, Honors Volunteers

Westminster College's Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning cosponsored the second annual Westminster Cares Day April 16 and honored student volunteers at a community service banquet April 19.

Westminster Cares Day, also sponsored by Westminster's Student Government Association, involved 17 students in a Habitat for Humanity work day (coordinated by Katelynn Gray and Erica Szewczyk) and 10 students who painted and cleaned at the Crisis Shelter of Lawrence County (coordinated by Melanie Perello) or visited with residents at the Overlook Nursing Home (coordinated by Jessica Ferguson and Susannah St. Laurent).

"Westminster Cares Day is a great opportunity for volunteering in Lawrence County," said Jeff Ledebur, Drinko Center community service coordinator who supervised the event.  "Our students do amazing work throughout the year and this is a chance for them to work together in our local communities."

Westminster Cares Day is part of Global Youth Service Day to encourage college students and youth to become engaged in their local communities through volunteer service.

The community service banquet included Westminster students, faculty, staff, and community partners to showcase the students' participation and dedication to volunteer service with local agencies and organizations.

The event recognized 20 students who are participants in the Drinko Center's Scholars in Service to Pennsylvania and AmeriCorps Community Fellows programs for their commitment to service.  Gray, Lindsay James, and Katelyn Moga spoke about their experiences as Scholars in Service to Pennsylvania participants.

Additional speakers included Ledebur; Dr. Patrick Krantz, Drinko Center director; and keynote speaker Andrew Blythe, cofounder of The Call to Serve, a non-profit in Pittsburgh.

"It was an opportunity for our community partners to see what Westminster has to offer in terms of service-learning, community outreach, and volunteerism," Krantz said.  "It gave them a chance to make connections, provide feedback, and ask questions so that we may work more closely with them in the future to meet the needs of the community."

The Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning was created to enrich undergraduate education at Westminster through advancing world-class teaching as well as by participating in collaborations that address community and regional needs including strengthening K-12 education.  Visit www.westminster.edu/drinko for more information about the Drinko Center and its programs.

Westminster has been named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll every year since the program was launched in 2006.  Nearly 70% of Westminster students volunteered last year and logged over 26,000 hours of community service.

Contact Ledebur at (724) 946-6194 or email ledebujt@westminster.edu for additional information.