The 2014 Do It Day brought together an army of Trinity volunteers–approximately 700 individuals–who headed out across the Greater Hartford area on the first Saturday of September to see what could be accomplished in a day. As it turns out, quite a lot!
More than 50 community organizations hosted volunteers, who tackled projects including gardening, painting, office work, inspecting and packing produce, constructing benches and tables, reading to children, picking up litter, and maintaining trails, parks, and the riverfront.
City parks beautified by Do It Day teams included Pope and Keney parks. Two historic landmark organizations–the Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe houses–were among the beneficiaries of volunteers’ efforts, as was Foodshare, an agency dedicated to fighting hunger. Leadership Greater Hartford and Hartford Habitat for Humanity (whose executive director is Trinity alumna Karraine Moody ’01) also hosted Do It Day volunteers. Arts and media nonprofits were well served, too, with Hartford Artisans Weaving Center, Cinestudio, and WRTC Radio among those welcoming volunteers.
Trinity alumni rolled up their sleeves along with current students, faculty, staff, and friends, with a group of Boston-area alumni organizing a satellite Do It Day that took place the same day in the capital city of Massachusetts.
This past fall’s Do It Day co-coordinators, Sarah Wolcott ’15 and Trinity College Student Body Award Scholar Liznel Aybar-Ventura ’15, spent much of the summer on campus, working to lay the groundwork for a successful event. Their supervisor on this effort, Joe Barber, director of the Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement, says the growth of Do It Day over the years has been remarkable. “The first year, we had about 150 volunteers, which was impressive for just getting started. For the past four years or so, we have seen it up to about 700,” he says, noting that number includes those who pitch in with registration and driving students to Do It Day sites. “The event wouldn’t happen if not for all the sports teams, Greek organizations, and other groups that provide a lot of volunteers,” says Barber, “plus individuals who sign up for Do It Day and all the behind-the-scenes volunteers, orchestrating and providing support back on campus.”