Volunteers are set to take to the streets of Starkville, Columbus and West Point next week as part of Mississippi State University”s third annual Service Dawgs community cleanup day.
Mississippi State is partnering with Mississippi University for Women to send volunteers to approximately 20 sites around the Golden Triangle on Aug. 17. Groups will work on projects from construction of the Maroon Edition Habitat for Humanity house west of Starkville to the cleanup of Camp Seminole in northern Oktibbeha County to the preparation of walls in downtown Starkville for future murals. Volunteers also will help out at local pre-schools, clean up the Starkville Community Market site and assist at the T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability on the MSU campus, among other activities.
“I think the exciting part is it”s not just us; we have come together with ”The W” and are reuniting the two schools,” said Service Dawgs director April Heiselt. “We are going to be in Starkville, Columbus and West Point, so it truly is a Golden Triangle event.”
More than 200 people typically volunteer for the Service Dawgs event. So far, more than 100 have signed up to take part this year, Heiselt said.
Volunteers will begin the day at 8:15 a.m. at The Junction on Mississippi State”s campus, where Megan Mullen, wife of MSU head football coach Dan Mullen, will speak. Miss Mississippi and MSU alumnus Sarah Beth James also is scheduled to speak. Then volunteers will spread out throughout the Golden Triangle.
Participants will return to campus for a barbecue lunch at 1 p.m.
“Mississippi State has a strong commitment to giving back to the community,” Heiselt said. “Service is a very important part of the learning process and this is an excellent way for students to start the semester, while providing them a chance to connect with the community in a meaningful way.”
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
- Volunteers can preregister online at: www.mvc.msstate.edu/serviceDawgs.
- For final confirmation of sites, contact Ashleigh Murdock at 662-325-9432. For information about Service Dawgs and the Maroon Volunteer Center, visit http://mvc.msstate.edu.
WORK SITES
Work sites for the 2010 Service Dawgs Day include:
- Maroon Edition Habitat for Humanity, home construction project
- Aiken Village Preschool on campus
- Boy Scout Camp Seminole in northern Oktibbeha County
- T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability on campus
- Starkville Community Market
- Salvation Army
- Ability Works
- Starkville Parks and Recreation
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