For immediate release
Written: Thursday, Sept. 9, 1999

SPRINGFIELD COMMUNITY AGENCIES TO CALL ON STUDENTS WELCOMING THEM TO THEIR NEW COMMUNITY

The activity comes on the heels the annual Community Night, set for Saturday, Sept. 11 when the Tiger football team hosts Baldwin-Wallace. According to Deborah Dillon, director of Wittenberg's Community Workshop program, which is co-sponsoring the event with the university's student-run Residence Hall Association and the Office of Residential Life, seven university residence halls will host 19 Springfield community groups in an evening of informal mixing.

"The idea is for new students and for selected community groups to get a taste of their new neighbors," Dillon said. "By no means is this a comprehensive gathering of community groups but it is a sampling of opportunities for Wittenberg students to become involved in their new community. It is a way for students to put a human face on Springfield."

Dillon said that three to five community agencies will have representatives in each residence hall with information to share with students. She said the purpose is not for agencies to walk out with a list of student volunteers, but to raise awareness of what opportunities exist in Springfield.

Wittenberg retains a strong commitment to providing service and volunteer opportunities in the Springfield community. Through the Community Workshop, all students are required to complete 30 hours of community service, typically in their sophomore year, in order to graduate. All fraternities and sororities also sponsor philanthropic activities as well as student groups and organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity.

A list of community agencies and groups who are expected to participate include: Junior Achievement, Aid for College Students, Head Start, Springfield Peace Center, Emerson Elementary School, Mercy Medical Center, Oesterlen, Ohio Masonic Home, Clark County Youth Leadership Academy, The Ark, Warder Literacy Center, Clark County Mental Retardation Developmental Disabilities Recreation, Fulton Elementary School, Clarence J. Brown Reservoir, Springfield Museum of Art, Clark County Historical Society, Girls Scouts, Project Woman and Parent Infant Center.