Champlain College sent nearly 150 members of its staff and faculty out into the community on May 7 to participate in a range of community service projects as part of the College’s annual year-end retreat and awards day. After a morning of announcements and recognition of campus endeavors to encompass the strategic plan, Champlainers grabbed lunch, their gloves and went out to clean up beaches, prepare gardens and help organizations get ready for their summer programs.
The projects this year included clearing trails at The Catamount Family Center in Williston; helping with gardening at Dismas House and the O’Brien Center; cleaning brush and sticks from the North Beach beaches, packing books and helping to prepare for the summer reading program at Fletcher Free Library, cleaning the Ethan Allen Homestead building, laying paths at the Discovery Garden at the Winooski Valley Park District and helping with gardens at the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps in Richmond.
Mary Lee, associate vice president of Human Resources and Organizational Development at Champlain explains “ This year’s community involvement is to honor President David Finney, who is retiring at the end of June. He and his wife, Sabine, have been very involved in the community and we thought this would be a meaningful gift to them. In addition, our employees have wanted to do it.... It is likely to become a tradition. It is an incredible opportunity for team building, giving back and making a difference.”
President Finney will retire on June 30, 2014, after nine years of service to the College community. His successor will be Don J. Laackmann, who begins July 1, 2014.
Earlier in the week on Saturday, May 3, Champlain held its 136th Commencement for 526 undergraduate seniors and continuing professional studies seniors, the College’s largest ever graduating class. On Friday, May 9, the College conferred master degrees on 81 students in a variety of subject areas.
PHOTOS: Champlain staff and faculty helped out at the Fletcher Free Library, cleaned up at Ethan Allen Homestead, prepared the beach at Burlington's North Beach on Wednesday May 7 as part of the College's Community Service Day to honor retiring President David Finney. Champlain College photos by Stephen Mease.
Source: Champlain College, www.champlain.edu