UNC Asheville Freshmen Take on 28 Community Service Projects;
Eighth Annual Bulldog Day a Success

On Monday, Aug. 16, some 721 new UNC Asheville freshmen moved out into the Asheville community for the annual "Bulldog Day: A Time of Service." Led by 85 faculty and staff members, teams lent a hand to 28 schools and community service organizations.

UNC Asheville groups were seen everywhere from the Asheville Art Museum to the YMI Cultural Center, bringing strong backs and youthful energy to labor-intensive jobs that make a difference to the local community.

This is the eighth year the University has made Bulldog Day a key part of the its orientation program. Meredith Devinney, 18, of Raleigh understood the importance of Bulldog Day right away.

"Volunteering is so important. Helping out in the community is one of the most important things we can do as students," said Devinney. "I volunteered in high school and Bulldog Day is giving me a leg up on getting involved in college."

Students wash windows at the Lewis Rathburn Center

Among the 28 service projects, students helped sort and inventory textbooks at Claxton Elementary School, processed donations at Manna Food Bank, cleaned up trails at the WNC Nature Center and collected trash along Broadway.

While the projects were varied, the participants were pretty unanimous about the outcome.

"Bulldog Day is a good experience," said Andrea Vollrath, 17, of South Bend, Ind. who was helping prepare the lawn in front of a new Habitat for Humanity home. "It lets us meet people in our class while helping other people that we’ll never meet."

Kyle King III, 17, of Greenville, Tenn. agrees.

"Being a part of the community is essential to a liberal arts education," King said. "It’s great that UNCA is getting all freshmen involved."

Media Contacts:

• Merianne Epstein, UNCA Public Information Director, 828/251-6676
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526