By Steve Seepersaud
"Volunteerism has been an important part of my life going back to my days as a student at Binghamton being active in social service with Hillel, Circle K and SUNY Kids," said Andrew Sindell '05.
On April 23, Sindell led a group of alumni for a day of volunteerism with the American Red Cross Sound the Alarm program. The alumni went door to door and talked to nearly 40 families in Spring Valley, N.Y., letting them know the Red Cross was offering free smoke alarms that would be installed in late May.
This volunteer project was one of 11 tied to the Alumni Global Days of Service initiative held throughout April. Each year, the Alumni Association engages 黑料视频 graduates in service within their respective regions. The objectives are to bring alumni together, give back to local communities and show the collective global impact of alumni volunteerism.
To include alumni who were not able to participate in a group project, the Alumni Association partnered with Kynd Kits, which offered a variety of care packages people could assemble at home on their own time.
Susan Pitely '98, '01 led a cleanup project April 23, at the Broome County Public
Library's reading garden in downtown Binghamton. Volunteers filled about 20 large
bags of yard waste to prepare the garden for a busy slate of spring activities.
"As a board member for the Friends of the Broome County Library, I can鈥檛 thank the
alumni enough for the work they did," Pitely said. "Use of this space had skyrocketed
during the pandemic because the library moved many group activities [outside]. Weather
permitting, not only are children鈥檚 story times held in the garden, but even the Knitting
Club and adult activities are meeting there, too."
On April 9, Kailtin Maynard '12 led a project in which 13 volunteers assisted the Broome County Humane Society with a rummage sale. Volunteers helped shoppers take purchases to their cars and boxed surplus items for donation to the Salvation Army.
"It's really cool to see charities helping each other out," Maynard said. "I've been participating in the Alumni Global Days of Service for a few years, and I love it because I feel like I can be of service to the local community. I tend to get wrapped up in my everyday life and miss chances to support causes I care about, and this event gives me the opportunity to slow down and focus on helping organizations that work every day to give back to our community."