Instead of sleeping in Saturday morning, Emily Crockett was holding a microphone and announcing an exciting game of tabletop “horse racing” at Evanston’s North Shore Retirement Hotel.
While 25 North Shore residents placed bets with play money, Northwestern student volunteers rolled dice and moved various world flags around a large square table to simulate a horse race as part of Community Action Day.
“I had a really good time, and we should have played longer,” said Rita Speer, a resident at North Shore. “It took a long time to learn how to play, but it was really fun.”
North Shore was one of 15 sites that about 200 students volunteered at during the day. Students left Norris University Center at 10 a.m. to help at locations in Evanston and Chicago.
“It was a fun and involved way to be introduced to community service,” said Crockett, a Weinberg freshman.
“It was a really creative way to become involved in the community, and it’s so much fun to bring a smile to someone’s face,” she said.
Students have gone to North Shore on past Community Action Days but never played the newly popular horse racing game. Fifteen students played games with the elderly residents until 1 p.m.
“The different groups of students always bring such energy and excitement to our residents,” said Joy Culver, North Shore’s social director.
Hosted by the Campus Activities Office, the day involved various aspects of service, ranging from cleaning a homeless shelter to playing games with the elderly.
“I wanted more experience with different types of volunteering,” said Shawn Crowley, a Weinberg freshman who volunteered at Open Hand Chicago, a meals-on-wheels program in Chicago for people with HIV and AIDS.
Each site had one to three site leaders, many of them freshmen who participated in the Freshman Urban Program before New Student Week.
Although the day’s activities focused on community service, group leaders emphasized the importance of the participants getting to know fellow students.
“I want our group to get to know each other better, have a great volunteering experience and help people,” said Gita Sivasubramaniam, a Weinberg freshman.
Sivasubramaniam led a group to work with the Jonquin Hotel in Chicago, a nonprofit Christian ministry that assists families coming off of welfare.
Participants said they were looking forward to meeting other students and assisting local residents.
“I enjoy helping people, and I wanted to get involved,” said Sara Petric, an Education freshman.
Petric volunteered at Connections for the Homeless in Chicago, where students first had an orientation about the shelter’s involvement in helping the homeless and then helped clean the shelter.
The purpose of Community Action Day was to attract new students to NU’s volunteer opportunities, said Michele Capio, coordinator of student community service and campus activities.
Although many of the participants were freshmen, all students were invited to participate, she said.
For some new students, Community Action Day was just the beginning of a commitment to volunteer work.
“College is in many ways about self-improvement, which is wonderful,” Crockett said. “It feels great to get a change of pace and do something that helps other people.”
