Surveying homeless youth, picking up trash, and harvesting fruits and vegetables for the disadvantaged are just a few tasks that more than 1,000 Johns Hopkins students, faculty, and staff will pursue on Saturday, Oct. 3, for more than three dozen Baltimore nonprofits.
The university's annual President's Day of Service, now in its seventh year, will kick off at 11 a.m. at the Ralph S. O'Connor Recreation Center on the Homewood campus. President Ronald J. Daniels will address participants, who will then fan out to volunteer at about 40 locations across the city. Projects will run roughly from noon to 3 p.m.
Some of the organizations and sites are Cylburn Aboretum, the Greater Remington Improvement Association, Jubilee Arts, Micah House, Thread, and the Weinberg Housing and Resource Center.
The larger projects, where 50 to 100 volunteers are expected, include: + First Fruits Farm: Harvesting fruits and vegetables for a ministry that provides the produce to the homeless. + Parks and People: Planting trees across the city. + Youth REACH Resource Fair: Collecting information about homeless people under age 24 living alone. + Recreation Festival: At this event for people with disabilities, JHU athletes and other volunteers will assist with games, food, and cleanup.
Johns Hopkins Alumni Association chapters, including those in New York City and Los Angeles, will join the effort with service projects in their own cities.
The President's Day of Service is organized on the Homewood campus by the Johns Hopkins Center for Social Concern and funded by the Johns Hopkins Parents Fund. East Baltimore participation is organized by SOURCE (Student Outreach Resource Center).