CU students volunteer to help 'make a difference' through On Site services

This past Saturday, Oct. 27, more than 125 Cornell students volunteered through On Site Volunteer Services Inc. for the 11th annual Make a Difference Day in the Ithaca area. Make a Difference Day, sponsored by the magazine USA Weekend in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation, is the nation's largest, organized day of service. This year, a record 2.6 million Americans across the country were expected to participate.

Cornell "Make a Difference Day" volunteer, freshman Destini Bowman, left, helps Prima Mote, 9, construct the planet Earth during the Kids Book Fest at Boyton Middle School, Oct. 27. Charles Harrington/University Photography

On Site Volunteer Services (OSVS) is an independent, student-run nonprofit organization in Ithaca, founded in 1995 by Neil Giacobbi '96, that recruits and manages groups to engage in volunteer service in Tompkins County.

Students volunteering Saturday for Make A Difference Day through OSVS used their energies to benefit a variety of local residents and nonprofit agencies. About 100 Cornell students from Pi Beta Phi, Phi Kappa Tau, Tau Beta Pi, Circle K and the Cornell Tradition volunteered at the Family Reading Partnership's Kids Book Fest at Boynton Middle School. The student volunteers read books to children, assisted with literary and other activities and dressed up in costumes relating to the theme of the book Nova's Ark by David Kirk. Said junior Mollie Klurfeld, "It's nice to have the opportunity to reach out to the Ithaca community. The real value [for me] is bonding with the kids."

Another group of Cornell Tradition students braved the blustery weather to clean up a nature preserve site for the Finger Lakes Land Trust. OSVS staff also supported volunteer coordination at the Northside Initiative neighborhood clean-up, where senior Louis Rivera said, "I really feel that we did something good for the community [today]."

Members of Cornell's Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity joined with Susan Murphy, Cornell vice president for student and academic services, to plaster and paint the Ink Shop Print Making Center's new gallery space. The center, located at 102 W. State St., is a nonprofit community-based, professional, fine-art printmaking studio and workshop facility.

"I was delighted to be able to participate," said Murphy. "The efforts of OSVS and the Alpha Phi Omega volunteers clearly were needed by the Ink Shop. ... Without them, there is no way they would be ready to be in their new home."

Afterward, Erin Brannan, Cornell senior and OSVS executive director, reflected on the importance of Make A Difference Day: "This is an opportunity for individuals to come together to get involved with their community. But I hope that people's commitment to serve doesn't stop at Make a Difference Day. There is a need for volunteers throughout the year at many different local nonprofits."