On March 11, more than 200 members of the Willamette community came together to live the motto through service as part of Willamette’s 175th anniversary celebration.
Students, alumni, faculty, staff and other community members went to 11 service sites in Salem, including HOME Youth Shelter, Audubon Nature Reserve, Horses of Hope, Catholic Community Services, Marion-Polk Food Share and the Willamette Humane Society.
Groups of alumni also gathered in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles to tackle large projects ranging from product organizing at a food bank to park cleanup with Habitat for Humanity. Meanwhile, a small group of study abroad students led by Professor David Craig joined the effort from the other side of the Atlantic by picking up trash on Coumeenoole Beach in Dingle, Ireland.
“The Willamette service day was a great community-building experience,” says Kayley Abrams '15, a volunteer from the Alumni Association’s Bay Area Chapter. “Not only did we give back to our San Francisco community by helping Habitat for Humanity, but we also forged meaningful connections with fellow Bearcats in the Bay Area.”
At the end of the day, which was organized by WU Alumni Association, Bearcats across the country had recorded more than 500 hours of service in their communities.