MA
Mary Anderson
  • Marketing
  • Class of 2012
  • Barrington, RI

Area Residents Begin Providence College Career Volunteering to Improve Providence Parks

2008 Sep 12

Mary Anderson, a resident of Barrington, RI was among 175 students in Providence College's class of 2012 who spent their first days in Providence participating in the College's 18th annual Urban Action program. The freshmen and 25 upperclassmen leaders volunteered over 2,850 hours to at sites throughout Providence, Rhode Island.

Anderson worked with the City of Providence to clean Corliss Park and Neutaconkanut Park. They refurbished the parks, cleared brush and performed a general clean-up of the surrounding areas.

The Urban Action program was initiated by Providence College students in 1991 with 17 students volunteering the first year. Since then, nearly 2,400 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 City of Providence's 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; clearing pastures and outbuildings to create a community farm for Providence families; digging trenches for the city to lay electric lines for a community sports league; and preparing a spot for Smith Hill Center's outdoor performance center and park. Students also participate in similar neighborhood projects throughout the academic year.

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