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R-MC students helped raise more than $2,000 to benefit
the Hanover ARC. |
11/28/11
Randolph-Macon College students recently helped raise more than $2,000 to benefit the Hanover Arc.
The 6th Annual Ashwood Gardens & Nursery Pumpkin Chunk-A-Thon took place on October 30, 2011. The gourd-filled event included children’s games, pumpkin chunking, face-painting, an Alpaca zoo, a corn maze and a pet-costume contest. Pumpkin-chunking participants catapulted pumpkins from a large wooden trebuchet to the cheers of an enthusiastic crowd.
The Hanover Arc is a non-profit organization serving adults and children with developmental disabilities. Proceeds from the Chunk-A-Thon will fund the Arc’s recreation and respite care programs for children and their families.
Will Merritt ’15,
Garrett White ’14,
Maggie Cookson ’15,
Molly Friedel ’15,
Caroline Rhodes ’15 and
Leeanne Jones ’14 volunteered at the event, which was sponsored by the
Randolph-Macon College Leadership Fellows Program and
Service Fellows Program.
To read more SERVE stories, click here.The Hanover Arc lauded Randolph Macon for providing volunteers for the event. In an e-mail to Assistant Dean of Students James McGhee, Hanover Arc Special Events Coordinator Sandy Bralley called the students “friendly, hardworking, professional and a pleasure to work with.”
Lucy Cantrell, executive director of Hanover Arc, says that R-MC students took initiative and were willing to help out with anything.
“As an organization dependent on volunteers, we need great volunteers and that is what we got,” says Cantrell. “The students asked if they could help out more; they are going to volunteer at our Santa Breakfast in December.”
R-MC Sociology Professor Reber Dunkel, coordinator of Students Engaged in Responsible Volunteer Experiences (
SERVE), is thrilled that students are connected with the community.
“It was a terrific event,” says Dunkel of the Chunk-A-Thon. “Our students realize the importance of giving back, and they know that even small kindnesses can reap enormous benefits. Their generosity makes the entire R-MC community proud. Partnering with business owners like Charlie and Terry Blair (Ashwood Gardens and Nursery) and the Hanover ARC helps our students become an integral part of the Ashland community.”
In 2010-11, R-MC students collectively amassed almost 8,000 volunteer hours. Nearly 50 students spent an alternative Spring Break in Florida for a combined 950 hours with Habitat for Humanity and 130 hours for a Haiti Relief project. Students in R-MC’s Greek organizations contributed more than 4,500 hours of collective service to the community, collected 550 pounds of canned food, donated 60 inches of hair to Locks of Love, 21 toys to Toys for Tots and generous funds to various organizations. In addition, money was raised on campus and donated to the Red Cross & Partners in Health for the Haiti Earthquake Relief. The SERVE program, in the Office of Student Life, is an integral part of Randolph-Macon’s Leadership Development and Service Initiative.