St. Mike’s volunteers rain goodwill

Directly above, on-campus volunteers do some tasks in the Teaching Gardens; another campus task was cleaning out dorms and townhouses, and that’s Lou DiMasi overseeing that in a photo below; a group that went to the King Street Youth Center in Burlington moved a dirt pile, and were glad to do it even though it was a little messy.

View photo gallery of Community Service Day activities>>

Rain failed to dampen the spirit of Saint Michael’s College community members who went out this past Tuesday, May 15, to various sites around the region or on campus to perform community service during the College’s Annual Community Service Day, organized and overseen this year by Joel Ribout, Erik Lightbody and other members of the Staff Welfare Committee.

After an opening gathering with light breakfast items in Alliot, the crews headed off to their work sites, which included:

All Breed Rescue; Boys & Girls Club; Catamount Family Center; Camp Hochelaga (YWCA); Camp Ta-Kum-Ta; Christ the King School; COTS Family Shelter; Gilbrook Trail; King Street Youth Center; Lucy’s House for the Prevention of Homeless Pets; Mater Christi School; Rice High School; Rock Point School; Ronald McDonald House; SMC Early Learning Center; SMC Organic Garden; SMC Playhouse; SMC Recycling Station; SMC Residence Halls; SMC Teaching & ALD Gardens; St. Francis School.

A small sampler: At Christ the King Catholic school in Burlington, a four-person faculty-staff team helped organize a large collection of costume, props and scenery for the school’s major annual stage productions, which seemed greatly appreciated by the staff there. At Camp Ta-Kum-Ta in South Hero, some tasks for a group of 15 (most working all day) included painting, cleaning and moving beds to prepare for the coming season. King Street Youth Center workers weren’t afraid to get dirty, moving a pile of dirt that needed moving, even in the rain. Many worked to helped facilities crews clean dorms and townhouses to prepare for summer now that most students have moved out for the semester.

The spirit of service seemed contagious. Mike Stefanowicz, director of admissions, shared that Melissa Ward, his office’s Regional Associate Director of Admission headquartered in Maryland, also participated in Community Service Day yesterday. She wrote to Mike: “Yesterday was great! I volunteered with groups of students from Immanuel Lutheran; they visited a local farm. It’s strawberry season so they got to see how the bees pollinate the flower which turns into a berry. Of course they got to pick some berries and take them home as well. A great day to be out at the farm for sure!”

Lightbody said he heard very positive reports back from all over — both workers and beneficiaries from the various sites. A group of more than 10 employees worked in the campus garden, harvesting and washing all the greens that were served during a noon luncheon to honor employees who have worked various increments of 5 years at Saint Michael’s.

Recognition Luncheon:

After a meal of hot dogs, hamburgers, salads and other sides along with Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Alliot for all the returning service works, the star of a luncheon to thank employees for years of service was Bernadette Jones of the Durick Library staff, who received a gift for 50 years of service from Saint Michael’s President Jack Neuhauser after remarks of appreciation from library director John Payne.

Receiving certificates from the president for other blocks of service time were:

From staff — 35 years, Michael McMahon (Facilities), Susan Treadwell (Child Care Center); 30 years, Marta Vosburgh (Accounts Payable); 25 years, Daniel Couture (Student Financial Services), George Goldsworthy (Auxiliary Services/printing & mail), Erin Slattery (IT); 20 years, Henry Comtois (facilities) and Mary Masson (Health Services); 15 years, Denise Brault (Academic Affairs), Michael Estey (Facilities), Naomi King (Library), Graham Lebel (Custodial Services), Lori Myers (Institutional Advancement), Hazel Raymond (Custodial Services), Russell Sabens (Facilities), Mark Tarnacki (Communications writer) and Barry Van Sleet (Facilities); 10 years, Gary Baker (Facilities), Theodore Becker (Custodial Services), Kellie Campbell (IT), Stacey Knight (Library), Shannon Kynoch (Athletics), Erik Lightbody (IT), Jane Luria (Health Services), Heather Lynch (Academic Affairs), Julie Mount (Child Care Center), Patricia Sheridan (Health Services), Kevin Spensely (Academic Affairs), and Karen Talentino (Academic Affairs).

From faculty – 35 years, George Dameron (History); 30 years, Daniel Evans (Applied Linguistics), Robert Letovsky (Business), Lloyd Simons (Mathematics), Joan Wry (English); 25 years, William Karstens (Physics), Jonathan Silverman (Education); 20 years, Jeffrey Ayres (Political Science), Susan Ouellette (History), Patricia Siplon (Political Science); 15 years, Molly Millwood Kirshenbaum (Psychology), Jerald Swope (MJD); 10 years, John O’Meara (Physics).