AR
Anne Ruelle
  • Global Studies and Spanish
  • Class of 2013
  • Greenwood, MN

Anne Ruelle Begins Providence College Career Volunteering to Improve An Historic Park

2009 Sep 2

Anne Ruelle, a resident of Greenwood,MN, was among 150 students in Providence College's Class of 2013 who spent their first days in Providence participating in the College's 19th annual Urban Action program. The freshmen and 25 upperclassmen leaders volunteered 2,000 hours on August 31st and September 1st.

Ruelle worked with the City of Providence's Parks Department to clean Neutaconkanut Park in the city's Silver Lake neighborhood. Students and city workers restored hiking and walking trails, cleared brush and cleared out an overgrown cemetery in the 88-acre park, which was inhabited by Native American Indians in the early 1600s.

Urban Action was initiated by Providence College students in 1991 with 17 volunteering the first year. Since then, nearly 2,500 freshmen have participated, with many returning each year as leaders. The goal of the program is to provide incoming students with an opportunity to make a positive difference in the community that will be their "home away from home" for the next four years.

Past projects have included collaborating with the Parks Department to improve the status of city-planted trees and restore city parks; clearing brush and preparing fields for a new organic gardening project at the Urban Edge Farm; conducting a massive cleanup at the City Arts! building; digging trenches for the city to lay electric lines for a community sports league; and preparing a spot for the Smith Hill Center's outdoor performance center and park. Students also will participate in similar neighborhood projects throughout the academic year.