Princeton University Freshmen Taking Action in Their Community

Over 200 incoming Princeton University freshmen will kick off their college experience by tackling critical social issues with community organizations in Princeton, Trenton, Newark and Philadelphia as a part of Community Action beginning Sept. 5.

Community Action, with the Pace Center for Civic Engagement at Princeton University, is a five-day introduction to meaningful service and community building at Princeton.

This year, 20 groups made up of more than 200 incoming freshmen and 54 undergraduate student leaders will take over the region and tackle wide range of issues related to hunger, homelessness, the arts, the environment, health, education, interfaith service, law and justice, and more.

Community journalism and local history are two new topics added this year. These topics have been added to emphasize how service is as much about learning about a place and its people as it is about hands-on volunteerism, according to the organizers.

“At the Pace Center we help students learn to do service well and have a positive impact in the community,” Kimberly de los Santos, Pace Center Executive Director, said. “Community Action is as much about opening students eyes to the community around them as it is about tackling concrete projects. We like to say that CA ‘starts with a week’ - meaning CA is often just the beginning for students at Princeton to learn how to live up to the University’s informal motto - in the nation’s service and in the service of all nations.”

Community Action actively partners with more than 50 community partners, nonprofit organizations, and faith-based organizations during the week for students to live and work completely off-campus, including:

Catholic Youth Organization, Trenton NJ

HomeFront, Trenton NJ

Old Barracks Museum, Trenton NJ

Sierra Club of New Jersey, Trenton NJ

Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, Trenton NJ

The Trenton City Museum, Trenton NJ

Westminster Presbyterian Church, Trenton NJ

Mercer St. Friends, Ewing NJ

Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton NJ

Community House, Princeton NJ

Princeton Nursery School, Princeton NJ

Princeton Senior Resource Center, Princeton NJ

Princeton YWCA, Princeton NJ

Enable, Inc., West Windsor NJ

Lawrence Nature Center, Lawrence NJ

Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, Hopewell NJ