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Making a difference in the community
UB volunteers go back to school for Day of Caring
Darren Brown, principal of School
53, calls UB's Day of Caring volunteers "a blessing" in getting the school ready for the first day of classes.
PHOTO: DOUGLAS LEVERE
By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer
It was time to get into the back-to-school spirit for the more than 180 members of the UB community who participated in the 15th annual Day of Caring yesterday. The volunteers helped prepare Buffalo Public School 53 on Roehrer Avenue and Hamlin Park Elementary School 74 for the return of classes in a few weeks by rearranging furniture, painting banners, removing graffiti and restoring an outdoor garden and learning lab in a local park.
Darren J. Brown, principal of School 53, said the extra help was greatly appreciated at the school, where summer-school courses had left classrooms in confusion and teachers with little time to restore order before students come back for a new school year.
"It truly is a blessing to have all this additional help," Brown said. "It's a burden lifted off my shoulders knowing that I can mark off a lot of things that needed to be done...We have people in our office working. We have classrooms being moved. We have signs being painted in the art room that are going to be hung around the building."
Brown also pointed out the restoration that was taking place in a small green space across the street from the school. The school uses the park to teach science lessons on such topics as pollination, as well as provide a place for students to read and learn on sunny days. Among the volunteers who spent their morning sanding, scraping and painting the large gazebo in the center of this outdoor classroom was Dennis Black, vice president for student affairs, who noted it's incredible the difference a little time and fresh paint can make.
"In a couple hours you can see the change, and that's exciting," he said. "This is a great benefit for the community and a great benefit for us as colleagues...You learn more about your coworkers in three hours on a community work site than you can in a year in a university," he joked.
Elizabeth Kalfas, an academic adviser in the School of Nursing, agreed that the park and gazebo had undergone a significant transformation since UB volunteers arrived on the scene that morning. An advance crew from UB also had worked on the site the previous day.
"Seeing all these people out here makes you feel like you're a part of something bigger," she said. "It's great to feel connected to the community and to know we're giving back to people who really appreciate it."
Added Mechelle Lumpkin, a program coordinator in the School of Medical and Biomedical Sciences: "This is a team effort and the university is all about team efforts."
Many UB employees noted the big difference a little participation can make as an important reason they signed on as volunteers.
"There are a lot of needs in the inner city," said Paula Gainey, an applications developer in the Office of University Development whose husband, Brian, also was on site as a volunteer. "If everybody got involved in a school or neighborhood...then maybe things would be different," she said.
The fact that the beneficiaries of this year's efforts are local students is a source of pride, said Mary Dahl, a program assistant for corporate and community relations in the School of Management, who's worked at the university for more than 20 years.
"It's nice to know that the students here are going to benefit," she said. "UB has been doing more community service work and I wanted to be a part of that ongoing effort to give back to the community.
"If you've got enough people," she added, "it only takes a day to make a difference."