First-year students participating in weekend’s “Service Plunge”

A group of 26 first-year students will take part in this weekend’s “Service Plunge,” an annual initiative that fosters lasting bonds through participation in service projects, team-building experiences and leadership development activities.

Sponsored by the Office of Community Service, the Plunge is facilitated each year by six upperclassmen. Current facilitators include Anamaria Arteaga ’16, Natalie Grosso ’15, Brandon Harrington ’16, Sarah Lavallee ’16, Christine Ortiz ’15 and Joseph Santa Maria ’16.

For this weekend’s Plunge, facilitators have planned self-reflective activities that will challenge participants to step out of their comfort zone and discover who they really are as a person.

Friday night, students will help the parishioners of Trinity Church set up their annual pumpkin patch. On Saturday, they will volunteer at Fort Adams before traveling to Providence to aid in the presentation ceremony for Waterfire’s breast cancer awareness event.

An early morning wakeup on Sunday will take students to the UnitedHealthcare Marathon, where they will encourage runners by making posters and handing out water. Later that night, they will serve dinner at the McKinney Shelter or the Salvation Army. The Plunge will wrap up on Monday with a gardening project at Mumford Manor.

Each experience is designed to teach the Service Plunge participants valuable leadership skills and provide life-enriching experiences that demonstrate the effects service can have on a community.

For more information on the Service Plunge, click here or contact the Office of Community Service at (401) 341-2440 or community.services@salve.edu.