Calvin's entire incoming freshman class and transfer students will disperse across Grand Rapids from Thursday through Saturday, September 2-4, 2010, for StreetFest, a service-learning opportunity that introduces students to a commitment to service and learning that is central to a Calvin education.
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., students will be stationed at 55 agencies around town, doing everything from creating rain gardens at local schools to working on projects for Habitat for Humanity. One group of students will even take an urban bike tour, stopping at a number of StreetFest sites. The hope is that students will learn about the challenges the greater Grand Rapids community faces and see themselves as active participants coming alongside the community as it faces those challenges.
The theme chosen for this year's program is "Beautiful Feet." The theme is based on Isaiah 52:7, which states: "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'"
StreetFest organizers hope that students will learn about what "Beautiful Feet" means to each of these agencies and that they will use this one-day experience as a starting point for future engagement with the city's service agencies.
Note: In August 2010, Calvin College was named to the 2011 U.S. News list of top service-learning programs nationally, joining an elite group of colleges and universities in the recognition. In addition, in February, the college was named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement. Calvin students completed 3,276 service-learning opportunities in 2009-2010, with 130 courses incorporating service-learning into the curricula.
For more info on StreetFest, contact Megan Kruis at 616-526-6581.
-end-
Received on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:55:33 -0400
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Mon Aug 30 2010 - 08:55:45 EDT