In addition to working on projects in Erie, members of the Gannon community participated in GIVE Day projects in cities like Chicago, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

GIVE Day – Gannon’s Invitation to Volunteer Everywhere – seems to be one of the most popular days at Gannon. Students, faculty and alumni sign up to participate in community service throughout the Erie area. Everyone who participates gets a free T-shirt, but that’s not the only benefit – those who participate in GIVE Day also receive the satisfaction of making a significant impact in the community.

Kourtney Herzing, a freshman who volunteered with her residence hall, said, “GIVE Day was a great way to bond with the other girls on my floor. We helped improve the environment by cleaning up trash on Presque Isle.”

Gannon has been offering one-day service projects since 1989, when the Center for Social Concerns was formed. More than 100 students participated in the first GIVE Day experience in 1997 and it has been an annual event ever since. Approximately 300 students participated in 2002 and the number of participants has been steadily climbing since then.

According to Tammy Fritz, program coordinator for the Center for Social Concerns, this year’s GIVE Day broke the record with about 950 participants. Tammy, who stopped at different volunteer sites during the day, said, “It was great having so many people because everywhere we went, we saw Gannon students. They were all over Erie.” She also noted, “We had positive feedback from all of the agencies.”

Are you on Twitter? Gannon’s Center for Social Concerns is! Check them out at www.twitter.com/GannonCSC