This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
Before taking their first class, 32 first-year students arrived early on campus to participate in one of three Pre-Orientation Service Programs offered through the Landis Community Outreach Center Aug. 21-26.
Twenty-seven of those students, or about 85 percent, then expressed interest in volunteering through a specific program this semester. Overall, the number of service hours contributed by Lafayette students continues to increase, according to CharGray, director of the Outreach Center.
Due to increased interest in pre-orientation opportunities, a third service program, Taste of Easton, was added to the two that have been organized each year. Fourteen current Lafayette students led the new students in volunteer activities.
Eighteen first-year students served as counselors for an estimated 80 local children ages 5-15 through the Kids in Community (KIC) program, which provided a day camp on campus with activities such as arts and crafts, recreation, and field trips. The children came from communities served by KIC throughout the school year and from the Boys and Girls Club of Easton. The pre-orientation KIC theme this year was “See the World through a Different Lens.”
Seven first-year students participated in volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity of Morristown, N.J., and other projects in the Easton area. Students helped rehabilitate a 210-year-old farmhouse that will be used to house adopted children. Students usually serve with the Lehigh Valley and Warren County chapters of Habitat for Humanity during the school year. They assist in all aspects of home construction, from putting up drywall to installing interior framing.
Seven first-year students participated in Taste of Easton. Through this introduction to the variety of volunteer opportunities available in Easton, students completed service projects ranging from completely repainting the Easton Area Senior Center in Center Square to preparing a meal for the residents at Safe Harbor.
The leaders included economics and business major Nate Durning ’06 (Evanston, Ill.) and geology major Amy Spooner ’05 (Clifton Park, N.Y.), KIC program directors; Spanish major Eric Imhof ’05 (Palmyra, Pa.), KIC Camp director; Angela Boyd ’06 (Red Lion, Pa.), Habitat for Humanity program director; physics major Jonathan Farrar ’07 (Alexandria, Va.), assistant Habitat for Humanity program director; and chemistry major Sarah Kahn ’06 (Wellesley, Mass.), Taste of Easton program director.
“Every year I wonder if camp is going to be as good as the last one,” says Imhof, “and every year it ends up exceeding all my expectations. I say this without exaggeration: KIC Camp is my favorite week of the year.”
For more information, contact Gray at x5653.