It was “a great day in the kingdom” on Saturday as hundreds of Grove City College students fanned out into the community to help their neighbors on the first-ever GCC Serve Day.
The massive community service effort was part of Welcome Week, the College’s freshman orientation process, which began last week when about 600 new students arrived on campus to begin their college careers.
Decked out in red T-shirts emblazoned with the popular College catchphrase “It’s a Great Day in the Kingdom,” 547 freshmen, along with upperclass Orientation Board members, student-athletes from four sports, faculty, staff, and alumni, spent several hours working at 30 different locations in and around Grove City.
“Our students set the tone for the year by spending their first Saturday serving our neighbors. I can’t think of a better way to begin. Jesus taught that true greatness is found in serving others. GCC Serve Day puts that lesson into action,” College President Bradley Lingo ’00 said.
Their labor ranged from yard work, painting and cleaning, picking up trash from streets and parks, running Special Olympic events, cooking for Meals on Wheels, and other jobs that benefited area churches, nursing homes and schools, a local pregnancy center, animal shelter, and a flower farm, among many others.
At Orchard Hill Church’s Butler Campus, the students painted a kids’ ministry classroom and deep cleaned tables, chairs, and a storage area for the congregation, Pastor Brady Randall said.
“It was a blessing to have the college students at our church. This was a gift on many levels,” he said. “Seeing college students be the hands and feet of Jesus is inspiring. I'm grateful for the partnership of Grove City College and those who serve.”
Students took paint brushes in hand to freshen up a dining room and hallway at Orchard Manor, an assisted living center adjacent to campus. They also cleaned up a garage at the site, Activities Director Brigette Wilhelm said.
“Having students come into our facility and give their time to make a difference means a lot to our residents and staff. We are very grateful to Grove City College for partnering with us and for giving their students the opportunity to serve our residents and community,” Wilhelm said.
Freshman Gwenyth Morgan spent part of her first Saturday of college helping out at Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church, where she’s planning to worship while at Grove City College.
“I just wanted to go ahead and start serving in any way that I can because I think that's really important," she said.
While Grove City College students have long been involved in big community service efforts like the local United Way’s Days of Caring and East Main Presbyterian Church’s Church Has Left the Building outreach, GCC Serve Day is the first such effort coordinated by the College.
“This is the first time we are running a large service day during Welcome Week,” Eric Fehr, assistant dean of Student Life, said. “Overall, the day was quite a great success. Our new students were the bright stars of the entire project.”