‘FIRST’ University of Scranton Freshmen Arrive to Volunteer

          Forty-four members of The University of Scranton’s Class of 2015 will arrive earlier than their classmates to participate in FIRST (Freshmen Involved in Reflective Service Together), a reflective service immersion program now in its ninth year at the Jesuit university.

         
          The students will paint murals at North Scranton HeadStart, assist with camp programs at the Belleview Center, visit with patients at the Jewish Home of Eastern Pennsylvania, help build a playground at the Waverly Community Center, and volunteer at several other nonprofit organizations from Tuesday, Aug. 23, through Friday, Aug. 26. Each evening the students will reflect as a group on themes of social justice and spirituality.

          According to Pat Vaccaro, director of the Community Outreach Office at The University of Scranton, the FIRST program gives students a chance to experience some of the service options available to them in Scranton.

          Each year more than 2,850 University of Scranton students perform more than 170,000 service hours. The University’s Community Outreach Office will hold a fair for area nonprofit organizations seeking student volunteers on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

          The University of Scranton has been nationally recognized for its service efforts.

          The University was ranked 14th in the nation among just 50 peer service-oriented institutions recognized in the September/October 2010 issue of Washington Monthly. In addition to being named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, Scranton is also among just 119 colleges in the nation earning the highly selective Community Engagement Classification designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.