More than 80 students, alumni and staff of SJC Long Island participated this fall in St. Joseph’s College’s Make A Difference Day (MADD) and perform community service at locations across Suffolk, Nassau and Queens.
Split up into seven teams, the group provided community service at Momma’s House in Jericho, Gerald Ryan Outreach Center in Wyandanch, the St. Joseph the Worker Community Garden in East Patchogue, Habitat for Humanity in Queens, Sav-A Pet, and the DD Animal Recovery Ranch.
Combined, the group tallied 450-plus hours of charitable work.
“All of the volunteers had bright attitudes and I could see they really loved being able to serve their community,” said SJC Long Island freshman Victoria Machado, a secondary education major from Bohemia. “Throughout their work, they constantly motivated each other and made sure to communicate effectively without ever complaining or getting tired. This showed off their passion for service.”
Momma’s House in Jericho
Fifteen volunteers repaired two screen doors, fix a door window, cleaned and organized the garage, raked leaves, carried in donated food, removed air conditioners for the season and taped up a fence.
Save a Pet in Port Jefferson Station
A dozen students, one alum and one SJC Long Island staff member cleaned the Save a Pet’s conference room and the shelter’s entire community clinic, including its surgical recovery room, waiting room and office area. In what proved to be a rewarding and educational experience, the group learned about the financial and societal ripple effects of puppy mills and inbreeding, as well as the value of adopting a rescued animal.
Gerald Ryan Outreach Center in Wyandanch
Eight volunteers from SJC Long Island painted the offices of the outreach center, organized food in the pantry and supply unit and organized clothing donations and supplies.
East Patchogue Community Garden
Fifteen volunteers helped build two handicap/elderly accessible plant bed boxes and fix the wire fence to close up openings in the fence and better protect the garden. Some of the volunteers pulled weeds that were blocking the sign to the garden.
