StreetFest at Calvin College Starts September 2

August 25, 2004 == MEDIA ADVISORY

The 12th annual StreetFest at Calvin College will put some 900 first-year
students into the streets of Grand Rapids for four-hour service-learning
projects as part of their orientation program at the college.

StreetFest will take place September 2, 3 and 4. Each day will begin with
worship in the Calvin chapel from 9:30-10 am. From 11:30 am to 3 pm the
students will work at various sites around the city. For the complete list see
http://www.calvin.edu/admin/slc/street_fest/

The theme for StreetFest 2004 is "celebrating neighborhoods."

Calvin senior Alaina Cronkright of Zeeland is coordinating this year's
effort.

She says the focus on neighborhoods will provide important lessons for Calvin
first-year students.

"At Calvin it's sometimes easy to forget about the world beyond the campus,"
she says. "But neighborhoods are important for us to participate in and
partner with as members of our local community. Also a neighborhood is a great
example of many different parts working together - schools, churches,
government institutions, public transportation, businesses, families and so
much more. Grand Rapids has a lot to offer the students at Calvin College
through diverse neighborhoods and opportunities."
 
Through StreetFest, Calvin hopes to introduce first-year students to various
Grand Rapids neighborhoods with the hope that students will make a connection
that can last throughout their time at Calvin.

"We want students," says Cronkright, "to become familiar with and involved in
the city."

Students are given a small taste of what service-learning can be like during
their StreetFest experience.

Among the projects for 2004: working with ICCF building sheds, sorting
clothes at In the Image, accompanying residents from the Heartland Health Care
to the John Ball Park Zoo and planting a rain garden and doing stream clean-up
work with the West Michigan Environmental Action Council. All told about 70
sites will be visited over a three-day period. For the complete list see
http://www.calvin.edu/admin/slc/street_fest/

StreetFest is coordinated by the Service-Learning Center at Calvin. Director
Jeff Bouman says the project serves dual purposes: it is an introduction to
service as an important element of a Calvin education and it is an introduction
to the city of Grand Rapids.

Contact Cronkright at 616-526-6455 or amc2@calvin.edu

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Received on Wed Aug 25 09:54:30 2004