|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
Volunteer Fair sets record
4:01 p.m., Sept. 15, 2006--“We had 345 students attend the Volunteer Fair this year,” Marianne Green, assistant director of UD's Career Services Center said, adding it was the best attendance in five years. Forty nonprofit organizations signed up for the fair. Those who attended seemed just as delighted as Green at the turnout. “We had 80 people sign-up last year, and it looks as though it could be more this year,” Lynne Robinson said. Robinson is executive director of PAWS for People, a pet-assisted therapy service that brings animals into hospitals, nursing homes, Alzheimer's units and cancer treatment centers. With 65 dogs, 6 cats and more than 70 handlers that make 250 visits a month, Robinson said they need all the volunteers they can get. As a result of the success they had last year, PAWS has created an internship program. Freshman Alexandra Collins of Cheshire, Conn., said she signed up to volunteer for PAWS because she loves animals and working with children, and with PAWS, she can do both. Junior Achievement of Delaware had 23 signatures. The group sends volunteers into elementary through high school classrooms to teach a junior achievement program as part of social studies courses.
Kathleen Gove, of Wilmington, and Alana Kitt, of New York City, both juniors and education majors, said they are volunteering to work with the Delaware Mentoring Council because they want to make a difference, they love working with kids and they consider it experience they will be able to use in their future careers. Joseph Cavalier, a freshman hotel, restaurant and institutional management (HRIM) major from Middletown, N.J., had a different reason for volunteering with the Alzheimer's Association of Delaware and Newark Manor, a nursing home. “I'm very close to my grandparents. At home, I spend a lot of time with them, and I used to help out at the senior center there.” He said he wanted to act as a substitute for the children of local elderly and give them something to look forward to. “My grandmother had Alzheimer's, and she died of it,” Maureen Oderwald, a freshman HRIM major from Long Island, N.Y., said. She volunteered to work for the Alzheimer's Association. “I've been coming to Volunteer Fair for 7 years,” Doris Kennedy, activities coordinator for Newark Manor, said. “I love working with students. They are really good kids, and so good with the residents that it amazes me. When I see these kids, I have no fear for the future.” Article by Barbara Garrison
|
|
|
