(jgardynski@student.stonehill.edu)
Kristina Coriaty of Brockton has found herself spending time in the classroom helping others this semester.
The Stonehill junior volunteers as a member Circle K, a Kiwanis club sponsored college group, and is active in the BELTS (Because Everyone Loves to be Safe) Program. In the program, she said students go to second grade classrooms in Brockton to educate children about the importance of wearing seat belts.
“It is important for kids to learn at an early age that they should be wearing seatbelts and it is rewarding to be a part of something that helps further the education of children,” she said.
Coriaty is part of a growing number of college students volunteering throughout the country.
A 2006 study by the Corporation for National and Community Service found that the number of college students who volunteer is up by approximately 20 percent from 2002 to 2005. In contrast, the increase of all adult volunteerers is only up nine percent.
Coriaty said she has been active in a number of volunteer events, including Brockton’s Special Olympics, Brockton junior high schools’ field day ceremonies, and at the Natural Resources Trust of Easton.
Coriaty said she sees an increase in college volunteering. She is right on, because in 2005, approximately 30.2 percent of all college students volunteered, compared with 28.8 percent for the general adult population, according to the same 2006 survey.
“I think that the number is growing because people realize that it is important to give back to the community. I also think that students feel as though they are obligated to do community service sometimes so that they better their chances at obtaining jobs in the future.”
Representing the Stonehill women’s cross country and track teams, junior, Katie Brague of Mansfield, volunteers with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), part of a national group that promotes student-athlete community service.
As a member of the organization, Brague said she has participated in various community service events, such as Stonehill’s “Think Pink” basketball game to raise awareness and generate proceeds for breast cancer.
“For the women’s game I was downstairs handing out information sheets about breast cancer and handing out rally towels that had been dyed pink for the occasion,” Brague said.
SAAC members also go to high school seminars to talk to high school students about the life of a collegiate athlete, attend elementary school recesses to interact with the children, and raise money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Brague said she has volunteered prior to becoming a SAAC member.
“Last year for a class I went to a Brockton school every Sunday for three hours during the fall semester and worked with autistic children. We did arts and crafts and played sports with them,” she said.
Brague said she has noticed a lot of people at her school volunteering.
“I think that Stonehill definitely makes a point of making community service a prominent part of how it operates and how they want the community to be perceived. A lot of classes require community service and many clubs encourage it as well,” she said.
Stonehill isn’t the only local college to make strides in community service.
Wheaton College senior, Kim Wozniakewicz, of Sunderland volunteers in the Relay for Life and in Wheaton’s organization Colleges Against Cancer.
Wozniakewicz said she has been involved in the Relay for Life, an overnight cancer walk, for six years.
“I became involved in Relay after losing my aunt to Breast Cancer in the spring of 2002,” she said.
She has been a coordinator of the Relay for Life at Wheaton for the past three years.
As a coordinator, she organizes the food and beverage committee, the corporate sponsor/fundraising committee, prizes and awards, and logistics.
With 35 teams and 291 participants, Wozniakewicz said Wheaton’s Relay for Life raised $25,000. She said that number is expected to increase as funds continue to raise throughout the rest of the spring and summer.
“My reason to Relay is because I know what it is like to watch a loved one suffer and lose the battle against cancer and I don't want to see anybody else go through that same experience,” she said.
Wozniakewicz said there is in increase in college volunteering. She said that Habitat for Humanity, which hosts multiple trips during breaks and vacations for students to participate and volunteer, seems to be a popular cause at Wheaton.
“There are so many different causes and programs to volunteer for that the number of people volunteering for specific programs may seem smaller than one might initially have hoped for. I know of many people who have said that they wish they could do more, but there just aren’t enough hours in a day to do all that they wish they could,” Wozniakewicz said.
Bridgewater State College’s Brittany Carriero took part in a campus-wide community service event, too.
The junior from Middleboro coordinated the event Can Tabs For Kids, to collect can tabs to donate to Shriner’s Hospitals for Children. The hospital recycles the can tabs and then purchases things like x-ray viewing machines and even arts and crafts for the children.
Carriero is a social work intern in the Outreach Education – Health/Wellness center as well as the Treasurer of the Resident’s Hall Association (RHA). Both of these organizations sponsored the event as part of a reusability/sustainability week.
As part of the same project, she urged students to also bring recyclable cans and bottles to receive coupons for a free fountain beverage from one of the dining halls on campus and to bring a piece of trash to help create an art project.
Carriero said this is the first time this event has taken place on campus. To prepare for the event, she made flyers and sent out community announcements.
Five and a half pounds of can tabs were donated, which is about 8,800 can tabs.
“I think that recycling is very important, and it goes to a great cause,” she said.
Carriero volunteers throughout the year with the National Residents Hall Honorary and RHA.
“We have a community service office, many people like to do volunteer work, and I think it is growing,” she said.
According to the same study, college students are twice as likely to volunteer as individuals of the same age who are not enrolled in an institution of higher education.
Carriero said there are a lot of clubs on campus that have been actively involved with community service.
“I think that people realize how important it is to give back,” she said.
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