AMHERST — Dozens of students from the University of Massachusetts will perform community service projects next weekend, from dusting books at the Jones Library in Amherst or painting picnic tables at Look Park in Florence to cleaning up trails at Belchertown’s Lake Wallace or assisting the Hatfield-based Food Bank of Western Massachusetts with its Will Bike 4 Food event.
More than 20 sites throughout the Valley will be part of the sixth annual Mass Impact Day of Service, which will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 23.
Enku Gelaye, vice chancellor for student affairs and campus life, said in a statement that working closely with local organizations instills a sense of community pride in students and contributes to their appreciation of civic engagement.
“Each year, we set aside a day early in the fall semester to volunteer with local organizations, giving our students an opportunity to connect with the community and build an ongoing relationship with a local nonprofit,” Gelaye said.
The participants will include student volunteers from more than 20 organizations, with some specializing in farm activities heading to Springfield for the Gardening the Community program or to Amherst’s Sunset Farm. Others will paint, repair power-wash and do demo work at the Holyoke Children’s Museum, or rehabilitate the grounds and create interactive features for discovery of natural world physics principles at Sheffield Elementary School in Turners Falls.
Mass Impact Day coordinator Scott Bocchio, a UMass senior, explained that there are many projects student groups can undertake, including sports clinics, park clean-ups and playground improvements. Students can also propose projects and Bocchio will help connect them to resources and organizations.
The work is appreciated in the communities.
Linda Wentworth, head of collections at the Jones Library, said it is always good to see students volunteering with enthusiasm.
“We have greatly enjoyed having them in the past both for their work and their good company,” Wentworth said.
Mass Impact Day is sponsored by the Office of Student Activities and Involvement, a division of Student Affairs and Campus Life at UMass.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
