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Day of Service a Success


Small efforts reaped big rewards Oct. 18, when 83 volunteers kicked off Dickinson’s 2011 United Way campaign with a flurry of good deeds. Working in small teams, they scrubbed floors and appliances, painted walls, cleared trails, organized supply rooms, weeded gardens, stocked a food bank, spruced up living areas and even helped construct a Halloween haunted house—all in the hours before lunch.

They had volunteered to take part in the Dickinson Day of Service, an event organized by Human Resource Services and the Office of Religious Life & Community Service that benefitted 10 local United Way agencies. Held during Fall Pause, the kickoff event was the first Dickinson Day of Service for the entire campus community. [Story continues below.] 


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  • A total of 68 employees and 15 students participated in the event.
    Crew of Volunteers
  • Need mulch? Steve Riccio, director of staff development, is on it.
    Steve Riccio
  • Twelve volunteers tackled the wilds of the Appalachian Trail. Photo from the Office of Religious Life & Community Service.
    Tackling the Wilds
  • Volunteers clear a section of the Appalachian Trail. Photo from the Office of Religious Life & Community Service.
    On the Trail
  • Students paint a backdrop for a Halloween haunted house at Cumberland Crossings, a local senior-living community. Photo from the Office of Religious Life & Community Service.
    Cumberland Crossings
  • A little paint will set a frightening mood for the Cumberland Crossings haunted house. Photo from the Office of Religious Life & Community Service.
    Frightening Work
  • Ten volunteers helped out at Carlisle C.A.R.E.S., a local emergency shelter for homeless persons. Photo from the Office of Religious Life & Community Service.
    C.A.R.E.-ing Crew
  • Eight outdoorsy Dickinsonians reconnected the trail at New Frontiers Camp. Photo from the Office of Religious Life & Community Service.
    New Frontiers
  • These volunteers painted outdoor trim and cleaned indoor walls and woodwork at a local domestic-violence shelter. Photo from the Office of Religious Life & Community Service.
    At the Shelter
  • Recruitment Coordinator Tammy Heberlig (left) and Campus Life Coordinator Erica D'Eramo spruce up Carlisle's Employment Skills Center. Photo from the Office of Religious Life & Community Service.
    Sprucing Up
  • The Forbes Path is a little prettier, thanks to these hardworking gardeners. Photo from the Office of Religious Life & Community Service.
    Forbes Path
  • A volunteer weeds the grounds at Forbes Path, a linear park in Carlisle. Photo from the Office of Religious Life & Community Service.
    Weeding
  • Aleksander Perpalaj '14 gets to work in LeTort Park.
    Aleksander Perpalaj '14
  • De Pham (left), technician of infrastructure systems, and Professor of Biology John Henson tend to the young trees in LeTort Park. The park is maintained by Carlisle Parks and Recreation.
    LeTort
  • Volunteers bag produce at the Project SHARE food bank.
    Healthy Snacks
  • Volunteers pose for a quick group photo in the Project SHARE warehouse. The food bank relies on donations, including regular contributions by the Dickinson College Farm.
    Project SHARE
  • Elizabeth Lewis '15 (front) and Erica Burg, assistant director of financial aid, clean the kitchen at the Salvation Army.
    Elizabeth Lewis '15
  • Amy McMurdy, administrative assistant for the Office of Religious Life & Community Service (left), and Jodie Bowermaster, coordinator of event planning, put new covers on the pillows at the Salvation Army. Volunteers also organized closets, inventoried donations and helped prepare holiday food boxes.
    Amy McMurdy
  • Violence Prevention Coordinator Racine Amos (right) and Brent Hair, customer-service coordinator for facilities management, put some elbow grease into this cleanup effort.
    Racine Amos
A total of 68 employees and 15 students participated in the event.Prev ImageNext Image

The volunteers gathered at The Depot at 8:30 a.m. and shuttled to their assigned locations. For a half-day, they worked at a nursing home, food bank, homeless shelter, education center, domestic-violence shelter and an employment center. They also also beautified public parks and trails.

C. Taylor Putnam ’11 works in the Office of Religious Life & Community Service and helped coordinate the event. She said that the Dickinson Day of Service not only built momentum for the annual campaign, but also significantly aided many neighbors in need.

“This work affects hundreds of people in the Carlisle community,” Putnam stressed. “Even small acts can make a difference in the lives of others.”

By MaryAlice Bitts Jackson
Photos by Carl Socolow ’77