PROVIDENCE — More than 160 enthusiastic members of Providence College’s Class of 2012 and 25 upperclassman hit the campus early to help give new life to two overgrown city parks.
Before hitting the books for the new academic year, the students worked from August 28-30 with members of Providence Parks Department at Neutaconkanut and Corliss Parks, where students provided about 2,850 hours of labor.
PC’s Urban Action Program, now in its 18th year, was started in 1991 by two freshmen; since then, more than 2,400 students have participated.
At Neutaconkanut Park on Plainfield Street, the workers restored hiking and walking trails, cleared brush, painted, repaired small bridges, installed water bars to protect against erosion and cleared an overgrown cemetery that was recently discovered in the 88-acre park.
At Corliss Park, adjacent to the Rhode Island School for the Deaf, the students transformed an overgrown neighborhood recreational site, clearing brush and weeding the once-popular baseball field, as well as basketball courts and a community playground. The work crews also painted benches and performed general maintenance and rubbish removal.
Urban Action coordinators for the two projects are John Michael Butterfield, Shannon Case and Kate Wood, all members of the Class of 2009, and three-year veterans of the program. For the past two years, the trio served as leaders as well. They were assisted by 23 group leaders, all upperclassmen. “All through high school, I volunteered in public service programs,” said Case, noting that of the 200 incoming freshman who applied earlier this summer to volunteer in the community service program, 150 were selected.
Case, a history major from Albany, NY, said participation allows students to move into their dorm rooms a week early, and offers opportunities to make friends and become familiar with the campus and community.
“It looks like a whole new world down here,” Case observed, as she walked along a path that had been cleared of overgrown brush and litter. “I cannot believe the transformation that has taken place.”
Butterfield, a native of Thiells, NY, says he discovered the Corliss Park site while driving through the neighborhood and thought it would ideal as an Urban Action cleanup site because it was urban, needed cleaning and was within walking distance of Providence College.
“Everything was in place,” he acknowledged. “I saw this as something we could finish in three days. We just needed to spruce it up.
“This is my favorite part of PC,” Butterfield continued, adding that program participants develop many strong friendships and that volunteering offers new students great opportunities to bond with each other so that they won’t feel alone and isolated.
“It eases the transition into college,” he said. “It gives you a week to get comfortable.”
Wood, a social work major from Needham, MA, said the Urban Action program has shown her how people working together can make a positive difference in the community.
“It has taught me that it’s really important to build the community and to work with the community to help them help themselves.”
Ben Saviet, a group leader from Sutton, MA and a biology major, said working with the new students allows him share his enthusiasm for Providence College.
“I love showing the freshmen what it’s like to be a full participant in the college and surrounding community,” he said, noting that he hoped to offer the new students the same positive experience that he enjoyed three years ago. “I gained an appreciation for the love that the seniors had for the program and the school that we represent.”
Incoming freshman Katherine Nelson of Arlington, VA said her first impressions of Rhode Island is that going to school in the small state will be a lot different from living in the shadow of the nation’s capital.
“I think that the program is great,” she said. “It’s a fun way to see the community that you’ll be living in for the next four years. I thought that this was a good opportunity to give back to the community I’m going to be a part of.”
Peter Martina of Marshfield, MA said that he applied for the innovative program because he wanted to get to know his new surroundings. He added that he volunteered at Massachusetts General Hospital helping oncology patients while a student at Boston College High School.
“You feel like you need to do it,” he acknowledged. “You owe it to people.”
