First “Pioneer Pitch-In” Introduces Students to Local Community
The goals of the program are to help the new UC students get to know their new community, experience the joy of volunteering, and get to know each other.
More than 400 new Utica College students went out into the community today. The first annual “Pioneer Pitch-In” will benefit more than two dozen local non-profits, as well as the students, organizers say.
The students, who moved into the residence halls this past Tuesday, have been attending orientation events this week at the college. One new event, the Pioneer Pitch-In, matches students with college mentors, divides them into small groups, and sends them out into the community.
The non-profits were selected based on organizations where UC faculty and staff members already volunteer, and needed assistance that UC students could provide.
You could find UC students painting fences, benches and trying their hand at landscaping at The Utica Zoo, while others set up for this weekend’s bazaar at Notre Dame Elementary School. They also landscaped various properties for The Rescue Mission of Utica, and assisted with a music class for children at Grace Church.
The goals of the program are to help the new UC students get to know their new community, experience the joy of volunteering, and get to know each other.
The sites included, in addition to those already mentioned: CNY Conservancy, MVCAA, Rotary Club of Utica, Apple Tree Preschool at Trinity United Methodist Church, House of the Good Shepherd, Handshake City, Sculpture Space, The Parkway Center, Bakhita Community of St. Francis de Sales, Alzheimer’s Association, Mohawk Valley Challengers, UC DPT program, ICAN, Empowered Pathways, Oneida County History Center, UTCA, The Kelberman Center, On Point for College, Safe Schools Mohawk Valley, Morrow Warming Center, Thea Bowman House, Johnson Park Center, The Center, Little Falls Library, The Root Farm and UCP.
