The IUS GOLD Program and the Student Government Association hosted a Day of Service in the Billie Herman Park in downtown New Albany on April 9, but rain and thunderstorms soon canceled the event.
Volunteers accomplished quite a bit that day, even though they had to leave early due to a downpour mixed with hail.
“It was very disheartening when the thunderstorms rolled into the area,” Andrew Stillman, chemistry senior, said, “but we had a really great turnout for volunteers.”
Stillman credited the good turnout by being able to prepare and paint most of the buildings, including the main concession stand, bathrooms and baseball dugouts.
The event was created as an opportunity for students to help restore and beautify a park in the local community and earn service hours for their efforts.
“In recent years, the focus of the GOLD Program has been to develop leadership skills and concepts,” Stillman said. “For this year, the GOLD Program shifted gears and chose to apply leadership skills through community involvement.”
The Day of Service was a clean-up initiative of Billie Herman Park. Volunteers chose from several projects, including painting the buildings and dugouts within the park, cleaning up trash and debris and spreading dirt and gravel around the ballpark.
The event will be re-scheduled to a date in May for a full day of service.
By SAM WEBER
Staff
samweber@ius.edu