GC Residents Volunteer In Providence

Garden City resiends Brian Allen, Suzanne McKenna and Jenna Wood were among the 150 students in Providence College's class of 2010 who spent their first days in Providence participating in the College's 16th annual Urban Action program:

The freshmen and 25 upperclassmen leaders volunteered over 3,000 hours at six sites throughout Providence during their three day effort.

In one of the program's most ambitious and far-reaching projects yet, the Providence College students collaborated with officials from the City of Providence's Parks Department to improve the status of city-planted trees and restore city parks.

At Neutaconkanut and Merino Parks students renovated trails, painted guard rails, and performed general clean-up. Volunteers undertook tree bed cleaning and mulching just off-campus on Eaton Street and performed a tree inventory/assessment in the College's surrounding neighborhoods. Across town other students beautified the entrance to Roger Williams Park by painting fences and restoring tree bed areas.

As part of another student initiative, students painted rooms at the Sophia Academy. The school is a non-denominational, private, non-profit middle school for girls grades 5-8 from low-income families in Providence.

The Urban Action program was initiated by Providence College students in 1991 with 17 students volunteering the first year. Since then, nearly 2000 freshmen have participated, with many returning each year as leaders. The goal of the program is to provide incoming students with an opportunity to make a positive difference in the community that will be their "home away from home" for the next four years.

Past projects have included conducting a massive cleanup at the City Arts! Building in Providence; clearing pastures and outbuildings to create a community farm for Providence families; digging trenches for the city to lay electric lines for a community sports league; and preparing a spot for Providence's Smith Hill Center's outdoor performance center and park. Students also participate in similar neighborhood projects throughout the academic year.