More than 150 students, some armed with rakes and hoes and all with hands and a heart, took to the streets Saturday to volunteer in the Greater Lansing area.
MSU and LCC students took part in the annual Into the Street Kick-Off by giving four hours out of their day to provide different services at more than 20 locations.
This year’s theme, “United We Stand with Helping Hands,” was dedicated to the Sept. 11 tragedy.
Carlos Fuentes, adviser of the event and assistant director of the Service-Learning Center, said this was a great way for students to help the community and provide them with future volunteer opportunities.
“Our goal was to expose them to the needs of the community and introduce an ongoing commitment,” he said. “We have some really committed individuals - these are the future community leaders.”
Into the Streets is an MSU student community service organization, which holds two projects a year. The other project is held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January.
Student volunteer work Saturday ranged from helping children carve pumpkins to painting fences and parking posts.
Steve Migliore, a supply chain management junior, and Kate Shaner, a marketing sophomore, worked on pulling weeds and grass to make the softball field at Comstock Park in Lansing more playable.
“It’s important for students to be more interested in the community,” Migliore said. “Not just what goes on in the classroom.”
Migliore has volunteered numerous times, from volunteering for American Red Cross events to spending 120 hours working with visually-impaired children.
Shaner participated as part of her requirement for her business fraternity, Phi Chi Theta.
“It makes me feel good about myself and plus it’s a nice day to do it,” Shaner said.
Nursing junior Becky Warmbier volunteered for Into the Streets before and decided to bring her roommates along this year.
Warmbier volunteered at the City Rescue Mission Free Store, 1515 S. Cedar St. in Lansing, to sort and hang clothes and stock shelves for the homeless.
“I did this a couple of years ago,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity and it’s very enriching.”
Jim Wood, director of the City Rescue Mission Free Store, said the products he provides wouldn’t be possible without volunteers like students.
Wood said volunteers bring back the essence of what community really means.
“It restores your faith in society,” he said. “Every weekend there’s a new group that comes in and we love them all.”
