CCRI Students, Staff Volunteer for Annual Service Day

Karen Bouchard, visual arts director at the Artists' Exchange, always loves when the volunteers come by.

"They're doing the things we walk by all year and say 'we've got to do that, we've got to paint that,'" she said, gesturing towards a crew of volunteers from the Community College of Rhode Island busy clearing out a storage area. Another group of students and CCRI staff were putting the finishing touches on a bright paint job for one of the art studio's walls.

It's the stuff Bouchard sees all year long and then, "one day, boom!" she said. "This is fantastic."

About 170 volunteers from CCRI fanned out across the state yesterday. It was part of the college's fifth annual Community Service Day.

The event started in 2007, when the college embarked on a week of service to coincide with the inauguration of its new president, Ray Di Pasquale.

DiPasquale dropped into admire the volunteer's work.

"We now have more people asking for help, especially in these tough economic times," Di Pasquale said. "You walk into so many of these places and say 'how do they survive without volunteers?"

It's a great day for the CCRI to give back to the community "but when you leave, you realize there's so much left to do," said Kristen Cyr, public relations officer at CCRI.

Along with Artists' Exchange, volunteers spent time at Boys & Girls Club of Newport County, the Donate Shop in Wawrick, the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association in Hope Valley, House of Compassion in Cumberland, Rhode Island Family Shelter in Warwick, HeadsUp in Providence and the Station Fire Memorial Foundation in West Warwick.

Di Pasquale said the need for help is staggering. When he visits the sites, the people who run the nonprofits "are hanging onto your arm saying 'please help us."

He said the mission should be broadened to encompass every college and university in the state.

"If you look at all the colleges, that's 90,000 other students," Di Pasquale said. "If you got 5,000 of them, spread it out over a week, that could really help."

An example of the amount of need: CCRI, for the first time, asked nonprofits to submit requests for volunteers this year. Eighteen replied, so choosing the final eight was difficult.

"It was hard to choose," Cyr said. "They're all worthy. It tugs at your heart strings."

The day also enlightens students, who discover community organizations they might not otherwise know about. The same organizations can provide future opportunities to volunteer, network and collaborate.

Community Service Day has steadily gained momentum. Cyr said that in recent years, the faculty and student body at CCRI have been anticipating its arrival. It's a sign that the seeds of volunteerism planted when DiPasquale first came to CCRI have sprouted and keep growing.