Caldwell Holds Annual Tradition of Freshman Service Day for Orientation

Caldwell Holds Annual Tradition of Freshman Service Day for Orientation

Caldwell, N.J., July 15, 2014 – Incoming students at Caldwell University took part in the annual tradition of doing community service as part of their orientation experience.  They volunteered at a number of nonprofits and schools during orientation in June and July.

Groups split up and had varied responsibilities, from packing boxes at the Community FoodBank of New Jersey in Hillside and assisting the staff at the Caldwell Public Library to sorting donations at Goodwill Rescue in Newark and prepping for visitors and organizing art supplies at the Essex County Environmental Center.  Other students cleared classrooms or helped out at the day camp at Our Lady Help of Christians School in East Orange. Some volunteers cleaned the animals’ living spaces  at Mt. Pleasant Animal Shelter; still others  held a food collection for the Caldwell Kiwanis to benefit area people in need or helped with the garden at Roseland Methodist Church.

Dennis Brady, an incoming freshman from West Orange, New Jersey, volunteered with a group of nine students at Kingsland Manor, a historical site in Nutley.  There they did weeding, planted flowers and put down mulch.  Engaging in community service with future classmates was a great experience for him. “It gave us an idea of what to look forward to as we come to be a part of the family of Caldwell University,” he said.

Welcoming the new students, President Nancy Blattner told them that engaging in the service projects is “not only a way to feel good about yourself, but also a way to give back to someone else. That’s part of what we do here at Caldwell University.”  Service is one of the four pillars at the Catholic Dominican university, and Dr. Blattner urged the students to take advantage of the community service projects offered through the Office of Campus Ministry and the Office of Student Engagement.