The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/volunteer/)
Sarah Jane McMorrow ’24, a volunteer EMT and firefighter and computer science student on the pre-medical path, will receive $15,000 as the recipient of the 2024 JFK Award for Public Service.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect as I drove a somewhat stinky, meowing cat carrier home. But when I first opened the door to the carrier and a tiny black cat slinked out, my hang ups all but evaporated.
As the world witnessed the Notre-Dame Cathedral, a marker of centuries of French history crumble over in fire, one Cornellian was on the ground battling to save the historic structure.
Cornell’s Prison Education Program, which seeks to provide college courses to inmates at maximum and medium security prisons in upstate New York, hopes to “counter a culture of punishment that predominates in the correctional system today,” according to Dr. Robert Scott, executive director of the Cornell Prison Education Program.
On Oct. 27, over 500 Cornell students and faculty will step out into Ithaca and throughout Tompkins County to participate in the 27th annual Into the Streets, Cornell’s largest community service event.
Student volunteers spent four days engaging in various volunteer work ranging from transporting water to senior homes and a middle school to providing check-ups for patients unable to travel to the clinic.
“There were many times I was doing my all to fight back the tears, [but] as a group, we knew we needed to fight our feelings and be as supportive as possible,” Aoife Casey ’19 said.
Every winter, spring and summer break, Cornellians can be found around the world volunteering their time to communities abroad. Most students perform marvelous achievements, acts of good and return to campus refreshed to take on the next semester. Yet, at the moment of return, the coming home to Ithaca, we are forced to ask ourselves if our work was truly in the spirit of service and cross cultural exchange. This winter break my co-writer, a Cornell Traditions Fellow in the school of Hotel Administration, explored the complexity of cross-cultural volunteerism with the organization Unearth the World, a nonprofit that prides itself on its mission to provide both opportunities for service and authentic cultural immersion. In the spirit of service-based learning, we had been sent articles to prepare us for our excursions, ranging from country ‘quick facts’ to the importance of ethical photography.
Over 1,200 Cornell students found themselves doing everything from cleaning up Collegetown to harvesting carrots Saturday as Into the Streets celebrated its 16th annual day of service in Ithaca. Organized into approximately 140 student-led teams, volunteers made their way to over 60 Ithaca-area agencies to lend a much-appreciated hand.
The day began with an 11 a.m. kickoff in Barton Hall, where groups had a chance to mingle and have lunch before their projects began. While the 1,268 registered volunteers, a substantial increase from the 500 students in 2005, represented a wide variety of Cornell clubs and organizations, volunteers were motivated by a similar interest in community service.
While the majority of Cornell students were asleep this past Saturday morning, 150 members of the Cornell Tradition and a handful of staff and faculty helped take part in a Community Clean-up in Collegetown.
Although the hour was early, members of The Cornell Tradition had good things to say about the program.
“I’m really happy to be a part of such a great organization as The Cornell Tradition,” Lauren Cohan ’11 said. “Not only do I receive scholarship money, but I also take part in some wonderful activities with some wonderful people.”