On Aug. 28, over 450 Arcadia first-year and transfer students volunteered at 25 local and regional organizations throughout Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Bucks counties for the University’s 26th annual Day of Service.

This year, students sorted baby clothing at The Baby Bureau, cleaned and prepared classrooms at New Life Nursery School, and packed food donations at Philabundance. New Day of Service locations included Pegasus Therapeutic Riding Academy, Norristown Hospitality Center, Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library, and Inter-faith Housing Alliance.

At Norristown Hospitality Center, students reorganized an unused office into a conference room, which the center’s Development Coordinator Jen Mathews ’10 said will be used for confidential meetings for their homeless clients.

“A lot of our clients are here all day,” said Mathews. “Now, they will be able to use it as a meeting space for case workers. This was incredibly helpful.”

The U School in Philadelphia shared their appreciation via Twitter: “Omg! @arcadia1853 students tackled projects all over the @USchoolPhilly today! #thankful#lovedreamdo #phled,” where students cleaned classrooms and organized books in preparation for the new school year.

A staple of Fall Orientation, Day of Service introduces new students to Glenside and the surrounding area through community service projects. In total, students worked a combined total of more than 1,400 hours of community service during the day.

“I like Day of Service because it gives everyone the chance to get out into the community and exposes us to the different types of community service,” said Acting major Lara Daigle ’21, who volunteered at Elmwood Park Zoo. There students helped remove stones from a rock bed to make way for a new path and fed giraffes and birds in the Birds of Paradise.

This event, along with other volunteer opportunities, was run through the Community and Civic Engagement Center.