Founders’ Day celebration

MORRISVILLE >> Morrisville State College has numerous events planned to commemorate Founders’ Day.

Each year, the college celebrates community service on or around Oct. 26, Founders’ Day, which coincides with the first day of classes at Morrisville in 1910. Activities this year will be held on Oct. 25.

Faculty, staff, students and the community are encouraged to join in the celebration, which includes a reception and tree-lighting in the academic quad. The hundreds of tree lights represent countless community service endeavors.

Among the activities scheduled for Oct. 25: students will make cards for troops overseas, hold a food and hygiene drive to benefit local food cupboards and rake leaves in the community. Community members within a threemile radius of campus who would like their leaves raked are asked to call the MSC Athletics Office at 684-6072 or Coach Wallace at 684-6529, by Oct. 21.

During the day, students also will carve pumpkins to donate to residents at Crouse Community Center and fill bags with candy for the annual community Parade of Costumes for local children.

A member of the New York Campus Compact for Community Service, MSC has an established record of civic engagement, ranging from blood drives, coat drives and organizing Easter egg hunts for local children, to helping in the care, treatment and rehabilitation of animals.

Efforts are visible year-round everywhere on campus with Student Government Organizationsupported clubs, honors and academic programs, athletes and many others engaging in community service activities.

The Mustang Outreach and Volunteer Efforts (MOVE) group,

group, run by the Student Activities Off ice, also helps organize, promote and facilitate community service activities. This year, MOVE organized another successful Relay for Life which included participation from more than 200 students and faculty, combined more than 1,000 hours of community service and raised $6,000. MOVE also donated $ 750 worth of toys to the Morrisville Community Christmas Project for local children.

Additionally, service- learning courses provided a venue for civic engagement and offered services ranging from plant sales to tree planting projects in the village. The college has also reached out to civic groups in both Morris ville and Norwich.

Student athletes also made a significant impact through service work. For the sixth straight year, MSC athletics has reached beyond the previous year’s efforts to serve the community, taking part in 39 different activities, logging more than 3,000 hours of community service and raising nearly $10,000.

Giving to the community goes hand in hand at MSC, and over the years, that spirit has been recognized nationally. The college has been named to the President’s Community Service Honor Roll for 2015 and was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll in 2011, 2012 and 2014.

For more information about Morrisville State College, visit www.morrisville.edu.

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