UNC Asheville Introduces Freshman Class to Community Service;
Some 500 Students to Work at 24 Sites

UNC Asheville continues its tradition of introducing freshmen to community service through a massive community work day Monday, Aug. 15. This ninth annual “Bulldog Day: A Time of Service” will send some 550 students, faculty and staff to 24 local service projects to perform some 1,100 hours of community service.

Coordinated by UNC Asheville’s Key Center for Service-Learning, the community service day is an important part of the four-day freshman orientation program that begins Saturday, Aug. 13.

“Bulldog Day is an important step in assimilating our newest students into the community, and into a university that is an engaged part of that community,” said Merritt Moseley, UNC Asheville professor of literature and language and one of the original organizers of Bulldog Day. “We hope to make a difference both in our area, where our teams are at work on Monday, and in ourselves.”

Some 498 freshmen and 45 faculty and staff volunteers will take on a wide range of projects. Teams will assist with painting at the ABCCM men’s shelter, removing invasive plant species at the Asheville Botanical Gardens and sorting donations at Manna Food Bank.

Other teams will lend a hand to the Asheville Art Museum, Brooks Howell Home, five sites with the City of Asheville Housing Authority, Council on Aging of Buncombe County, Irene Wortham Center, Mountain Care, Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club, South Asheville Cemetery, UNC Asheville Campus Ministries Peace Garden, UNC Asheville walking trails, WNC Nature Center, Wild for Life and YWCA. Bulldog Day participants will also help out at local schools, including Asheville City Preschool, Evergreen Charter School and Vance Elementary School.

Manna Food Bank has been a regular work site for nine years. This year UNC Asheville students will work sorting food donations and do some cleaning around the center.

“Bulldog Day is a great asset to our services,” said James Bowles, Manna Food Bank volunteer coordinator. “We need 300-400 volunteers per month to keep up operations and each year Bulldog Day factors significantly into what we do.”

David Quinn of the South Asheville Cemetery Association agrees. “We’ve welcomed the help of Bulldog Day participants for several years now. We are so appreciative of UNC Asheville’s support.”

The South Asheville Cemetery, located in the Kenilworth neighborhood, was a traditional burial ground of Asheville area African-Americans from 1800-1943. Each year, students help with maintenance on this two-acre historic site by weeding, clearing brush and cutting grass.

Bulldog Day begins at 9 a.m. on the UNC Asheville Quad, where Chancellor-elect Anne Ponder will speak to the service teams. Students and team leaders will then depart for their projects. Work groups will return to campus around noon for lunch together in the Dining Hall.

 Media Contacts:

• Pat McClellan, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, 828/251-6001
• Jill Yarnall, UNC Asheville Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526