Some 100 Indiana University of Pennsylvania students will provide community service for five nonprofit agencies and organizations on October 12 for the fall Into the Streets event.

IUP's Office of Service Learning, part of the Career and Professional Development Center, organizes this biannual event, which is part of a national program to encourage university members to be active in their local communities. Each fall and spring, the office invites local nonprofit organizations to apply for help from students.

IUP has been recognized by the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts. Students record close to 150,000 hours of volunteer service during a typical academic year. Using the current national minimum wage, those hours would be valued at more than $1 million.

Agencies being served include:

  • Downtown Indiana: clean up litter in downtown, tidy up flowerbeds, and sweep sidewalks, 9:00 a.m. to noon
  • Evergreen Conservancy: help get site winterized, take down storybook walk, other maintenance, 9:00 a.m. to noon
  • Indiana Community Garden: garden fall clean-up, weeding, mulching, composting, and planting, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • Indiana County Humane Society: outside landscaping, cleaning up flower beds, and planting, 9:45 to 11:00 a.m.
  • Salvation Army: clean and pain the entry and lobby area, moving furniture, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

IUP's Office of Service Learning will host a picnic for volunteers and agency representatives from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Pratt Hall. Romeo's Pizzeria and Mediterranean Kitchens will donate food for the picnic.