Students Volunteer On Annual Make A Difference Day

Students and coordinators came together to assist community organizations through volunteer work on Oct. 19 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. for Make a Difference Day.

Students began their day at check-in with the Civic and Community Engagement (CCE) team at the Lecture Center, where they were given a free shirt with the Make a Difference Day logo. They waited inside Lecture Center Room 100 for their buses to be called, then left for their sites either by bus or on foot. Volunteers could reach some site locations by walking, such as the New Paltz Gardens and the New Paltz Youth Program. 

All of the 13 volunteer sites are within a 40 minute drive from campus. Students volunteered at the Hudson Valley Bee Habitat, Seed Song Farm Center, Ulster County SPCA, Ulster County Habitat for Humanity Restore and the Catskill Animal Sanctuary. Other site locations included the Alzheimer’s Association, Gardiner Library, Montessori of New Paltz, Mohonk Preserve, Friends of Plattekill Public Library, New Paltz Gardens, Alumni Weekend and the New Paltz Youth Program. 

Volunteers helped with tasks ranging from laying down fresh soil, patching up the playground at Montessori of New Paltz, cleaning up nature trails and more. 

First-year sociology and Spanish major Viv VanHoesen went to New Paltz Gardens as a site leader to manage garden beds. “It was a nice experience to familiarize myself with the local area, connect with and have a positive impact on the community,” said VanHoesen. 

Coordinators gave site leaders bags of snacks and drinks for their groups with some sites providing additional snacks. New Paltz Gardens emphasized the importance of volunteers taking breaks to take care of their bodies between tasks. 

Tasks at New Paltz Gardens included uprooting plants that were covered in frost, carrying perennials that weighed up to 40 pounds and fixing up abandoned garden beds. 

New Paltz Gardens, or New Paltz Gardens for Nutrition, is one of the oldest continuous community gardens in New York and has now established itself as a  nonprofit organization. It has  roughly five acres with about 150 individual plots, running water for irrigation and an electric deer fence that runs around the perimeter. The organization is volunteer-run and relies on the help of willing participants, like Rosemary Saldan-Pawson, the New Paltz Gardens vice president, who guided VanHoesen’s group. 

Second-year psych ology major Ryan Wout  also went to New Paltz Gardens to lend a hand. He said that Saldan-Pawson and her team gave clear and concise instructions on how to do the tasks performed by the volunteers while maintaining a friendly atmosphere. 

“Rosemary made it abundantly clear of the impact that our group made in terms of helping them prepare for the upcoming months,” said Wout. “Being able to see the impact that you have on people just by taking the time out of your day to go out and do some work, is a beautiful thing to see.” 

Of the 110 students that signed up for Make a Difference Day, roughly 80 made it to their volunteer sites. The program had space for up to 300 students due to bus sizing. Each bus could hold up to 44 students. 

Before the pandemic, the univeristy required fraternities, sororities and athletes to participate in Make A Difference Day for their mandatory volunteer hours. Since the pandemic, they have completed their hours in different ways. Civic and Community Engagement Coordinator Leslie Gutierrez said she reached out to these groups, but many did not sign up. Some members from sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha and fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi did volunteer at Montessori of New Paltz this year. 

“I see individual athletes that come, but they don’t sign up with their team. They just sign up because they want to. I think people have more fun than they realize once they go out,” said Gutierrez.

Groups are assigned to mostly random sites with exceptions for anyone with allergies, medical needs and other extenuating circumstances. Gutierrez said she makes sure to put groups who sign up together at the same site. 

Prior to sending student volunteers to help an organization, the site must complete an application form on the online form builder Wufo. Organizations must provide contact information, describe what they need help with and which people will be on-site at the time of volunteering. 

Since Gutierrez began working in 2022 as the Coordinator for Civic and Community Engagement, she said she has seen an increase in student volunteers on Make a Difference Day. According to Gutierrez, a lot of work goes into ensuring that everything is prepared for students to safely and quickly get to their sites. She spends time coordinating with the Center for Student Engagement, organizing the sites, buses and the students.

“I feel like people don’t understand how much attention to detail and how much planning goes behind the events that we do,” said Gutierrez. “When students don’t show up, it’s kind of disappointing for us personally as staff members.”

In the future, Gutierrez hopes to see a return of requiring athletes, fraternities and sororities to participate in Make a Difference Day. She wants to see more students volunteer next year to take part in the shared community experience that many students, like VanHoesen and Wout, enjoy being a part of.

VanHoesen said that the experience was laid-back, and it was enjoyable for them to be working with nature. Wout described the experience as calming and welcoming, and that he felt a sense of community at his site. 

“I love putting out positive energy into the world, and I know that if I put that type of energy out, it will flow right back towards me,” Wout said. “Being kind and helpful to anyone brings me joy and volunteering allows me to find that joy in helping others.”