GOAL hosted Day of Service April 6.
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More than 30 teams of Hillsdale College students, alumni, and Hillsdale Academy students got their hands dirty for a day of philanthropic service on April 6.
The college’s 5th annual Day of Service, organized by the campus GOAL Program and The Hillsdale County Community Foundation, facilitated opportunities for students to volunteer with multiple charities in Hillsdale County including Widows’ Connecting Point, Helping Hands Pregnancy Resource Center, and Hillsdale’s Humane Society. Community service initiatives ranged from cleaning up trails and cemeteries to baking cookies and painting non-profit centers.
Dorms, campus clubs, sororities, and fraternities assembled teams to volunteer with throughout the day. The teams met in the Searle Center at 9 a.m., where they received their service projects for the morning. According to sophomore and GOAL leader Maggie McGee, the service projects brought peers together as they give back to members of the Hillsdale community.
“Day of Service is a beautiful opportunity to work alongside your peers to give back to the people who have welcomed us into their community,” McGee said. “This year, for the first time, Greek women from all three houses formed Panhellenic teams as a testament to the spirit of service that transcends individual houses and unites us under Jesus’ calling to be his hands and feet in the world.”
The service projects lasted until 1 p.m., when the teams came together for lunch in the Searle Center.
Sophomore Meredith Vanderweide volunteered at Helping Hands Pregnancy Resource Center.
“I’ve always wanted to get involved with Helping Hands, so serving them with New Dorm was a great opportunity to give back and to learn more about what they do in the community,” Vanderweide said. “It’s always great to see the turnout at this event, really showing how much Hillsdale College loves to give back to the Hillsdale community.”
Freshman Mercy Franzonello headed up a team to help with spring cleaning at Hillsdale’s local senior center.
“I was the group leader for Tower Dancers,” Franzonello said. “I was so touched by how happy the workers at the senior center were to receive us. We spent a while just talking to them and you could tell they were really grateful for the work we were doing.”
Hillsdale’s Day of Service is the college’s largest volunteer event of the year, and contributed to the school’s ranking by the Princeton Review as #2 for the college “most engaged in community service” as of 2023.
McGee explained the gratitude expressed by Hillsdale residents as students devoted their weekends to caring for members of the community at large.
“I have had the opportunity to speak with several community members, and they always express how grateful they are for Hillsdale students and their cheerful willingness to give their time and talent to the community,” McGee said. “Standing in the Searle Center and seeing how many people chose to spend their Saturday morning volunteering, I was filled with so much pride and gratitude for our college.”
