One hundred incoming first-year and transfer students will be coming to campus early this year to volunteer with non-profits in Harrisonburg through James Madison University’s Dukes Making a Difference program.
The program connects students with almost a dozen community partners, including local schools, retirement communities, and non-profits focused on a range of issues from disability support to conservation and healthy food access.
Some of the service projects the students will be working on include:
- Helping local teachers and administrators get their classrooms, outdoor learning spaces, and school gardens ready for students.
- Performing essential repairs or remodels to help low-income homeowners stay in their homes.
- Cleaning a section of local river.
- Painting the interiors and exteriors of non-profits focused on mental health.
- Washing a partner’s fleet of busses alongside clients of the organization.
- Spending time with individuals with disabilities and with seniors in our community
“This is a great opportunity for new Dukes to learn about Harrisonburg’s most pressing social issues, and to join some of the amazing individuals and organizations making their new home a better place for all of its residents,” said Josh Shulruff, who coordinates the program for JMU.
The program will run August 17-20, 2022. This year’s community partners include, but are not limited to:
- Adagio House
- The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham
- Bridgewater Retirement Community
- Family Life Resource Center
- Friends of the Middle River
- John Wayland Elementary School
- Pleasant View
- Project Grows
- Renewing Homes of Greater Augusta
- Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community
- Waterman Elementary School
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