Summary: Beginning on Thursday, September 3 Calvin College incoming freshmen will head out into the greater Grand Rapids area to participate in more than 60 service projects.
Nearly 1,000 first-year students will arrive on campus next week only to be sent back off-campus. From Thursday, September 3 to Saturday, September 5 Calvin freshmen will be hitting the streets of Grand Rapids for StreetFest, a three-hour service-and-learning experience.
As part of Quest, a Calvin orientation program, all first-year students are sent out to one of more than 60 sites throughout the greater Grand Rapids area. The students perform a variety of service projects, which include yard work, building repair, and programs with children. One group of students will even be in charge of running a carnival.
"We hope that StreetFest will emphasize to the students the importance of supporting and interacting with this place, Grand Rapids, that they live in," said Karen Van Dyke, the 2009 StreetFest coordinator.
The 17th-annual Streetfest is themed "Walking Humbly," a takeoff from Micah 6:8. Van Dyke says this program helps to change students' perspectives about the city.
"StreetFest is a great opportunity to shift the students' view of Grand Rapids from a city of many needs and weaknesses to one that has many strengths and resources."
For more information, including daily schedules, contact the Calvin Service-Learning Center at 616-526-6455
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Received on Thu Aug 27 08:33:59 2009
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