Students Lend a Hand During Annual Day of Caring

Millersville University connected with the Lancaster County community in September during the annual Day of Caring, an annual event hosted by the United Way of Lancaster County. From 9 a.m. to noon, students, faculty and staff partnered with nearly 20 nonprofit organizations, boroughs and civic groups to spend a day lending their time and talents. Volunteers from 18 first-year seminars were assigned to sites across the county, where their tasks ranged from clearing brush in cemeteries to painting playground fences, planting and weeding gardens, or helping with local food drives.

Community Sites Across Lancaster County

This year’s sites included both longtime partnerships and new opportunities. Continued partners were the Manheim Township Historical Society at the Stoner House, Glatfelter Memorial Field Trust, Shreiner Cemetery, Lancaster City Parks Department at Buchanan Park, Homefields, Garden of Grace, Millersville Borough, Millersville Lions Pool, The HUB’s food drive at John Herr’s Market, The Loft Community Partnership, Homefields/CAP Farm Market, and the MU Office of Sustainability. Newer nonprofit partners this year are Lone Oak Animal-Assisted Therapeutic & Education Services, the Italia Festival of Lititz, Mount Bethel Cemetery in Columbia, The Mix, Mountville Borough, and The Edible Classroom at Hamilton Elementary School Garden in Lancaster.

The Edible Classroom

One of the most anticipated new sites was The Edible Classroom, where Millersville President Daniel A. Wubah joined students in the garden to encourage their work firsthand. Volunteers helped build a strawbale stormwater management system to address flooding issues brought on by an unusually wet spring.

“This project will help ensure the school garden continues to be a learning area for students and produce food for the whole community,” said Caitlin Kennedy ‘19, a garden educator at The Edible Classroom. “The garden supplies produce for agencies like Bright Side Opportunities Center and Penn Medicine’s Food Farmacy and also provides food for School District of Lancaster students who don’t yet have access to gardens.”

The Edible Classroom’s partnership with Millersville was built on earlier collaborations, such as research conducted by Professor Nadine Garner and her graduate students on the impact of school gardens. Today, that bond continues with students and interns contributing to the work of the organization.

Alumni and Student Perspectives

A number of those working with The Edible Classroom have ties to Millersville. Kennedy, who majored in art, said her time at Millersville instilled practical habits and creativity she still uses daily. “Punctuality, responsibility and creative problem-solving are skills I took with me from Millersville,” she says. “I’d encourage students to cultivate a lifelong love of learning and come discover what this place might teach you.”

Alexandria Chism, a senior in the Multidisciplinary Program majoring in educational studies with a minor in plant science, is interning with The Edible Classroom as part of her Honors College thesis. Her capstone project develops a curriculum that empowers students to grow food while exploring the cultural and political aspects of agriculture. “I would recommend The Edible Classroom for Millersville students studying education, life sciences, international or cultural studies, or anything else,” Chism said. “Millersville is located in the heart of agricultural heritage, and it makes the most sense that a strong connection is sustained between the University and this organization. The impact on students is clear as day and significant.”

Carrying on a Millersville Tradition

Day of Caring offers students a chance to learn outside the classroom, apply their studies in real-world contexts, and see for themselves how service strengthens communities. “This day is about more than just a few hours of volunteering,” Kennedy says. “It’s about building relationships, solving problems and making a lasting impact in Lancaster County.”

As students return from gardens, parks, and farms, they’ll carry forward the EPPIIC values that Millersville represents year-round: exploration, professionalism, public mission, inclusion, integrity, and compassion. The Day of Caring shows that when Marauders work together, they make a difference.