Findlay, Ohio, Aug. 19, 2004 — The University of Findlay will host its annual New Student Orientation Service Project on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2004.

Now in its third year, this event promotes the importance of volunteerism and service and has been well received by the community. This year approximately 600 members of the University community, including more than 550 first-year students, are scheduled to volunteer in the Findlay community to provide hands-on help to more than 30 non-profit, civic and government organizations.

Led by first-year seminar instructors, orientation leaders and UF staff and alumni volunteers, first-year students will perform three hours of service during the orientation weekend before their first day of classes at The University of Findlay.

Projects include: house painting for the Hancock County Agency on Aging; maintenance at the Black Heritage Library and Culture Center and visiting with Birchaven Retirement Village and Judson Palmer Home residents. Some students will participate in general clean-up and maintenance projects at many local agencies, including the YMCA, Hope House, the Salvation Army and several local churches.

Many seminars will be doing service projects that relate directly to their class topics, including a computer science class that will design a digital picture book for Open Arms Domestic Violence Services, a pre-vet seminar that will work at the Humane Society, an environmental seminar that will participate in a local river clean up and two equestrian seminars that will do maintenance at the Challenged Champions Equestrian Center in Ottawa.

“We tried to match service projects with parallel seminar topics as much as possible,” First-Year Seminar Director Diana Montague, Ph.D., said. “We want students to see the connection between classroom learning and service needs within the community.”

This service initiative is designed to introduce students to different aspects of the Findlay community as well as introduce community organizations to new UF students. One of the goals of the service initiative is to provide the students with a model for future pursuit of service as they embark on their collegiate careers at UF. As students and faculty help build the community around the University, they will also get to know each other better before the school year begins.

According to Wayne Sneath, Ph.D., director of Campus Compact, “we are striving [at UF] to make service learning and community service an integral part of the lives of students, faculty and staff. Our first-year students are poised to make a big impact on the Findlay community, and this is one step in the direction of helping them to become effective citizen leaders engaged in their community.”

The University of Findlay is a member of the Ohio Campus Compact, a statewide chapter of a national organization that promotes community service and civic engagement among college communities.

The University of Findlay is a comprehensive university located in Findlay, Ohio, about 45 miles south of Toledo. With a total enrollment of 4,711 full-time and part-time students, The University of Findlay is noted for its innovative, career-oriented programs in more than 60 majors and eight master’s degrees.