First-year students get introduced to Milledgeville and community service on GCSU Gives Day

Instead of sleeping in the weekend before classes start—all first-year students will get a lesson in volunteering at a university known for its community service.

Georgia College & State University’s annual GCSU Gives Day is 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19. It’s a day when a flood of freshly moved-in freshmen disperse throughout their new community, Milledgeville, to learn the importance of giving back.

The expected economic impact of this year’s donated labor is $120,000.

“GCSU Gives Day is a fundamental piece of the liberal arts education we provide students at Georgia College,” said Ashley Copeland, director of Community Engagement & Service.

“We want to create informed citizens who care about people and the community they’re moving into,” Copeland said. “Right from the start, GCSU Gives Day shows our new students what it means to be a part of Georgia College. We give back.”

GCSU Gives Day is a bit like a huge chessboard with a myriad of moving pieces.

Two shifts of students, clad in blue T-shirts, will be given instructions and a bagged breakfast. Then, they’ll be bussed to more than 30 locations throughout the city. They’ll dig, plant, clean, organize and interact with the public at various civic non-profits, businesses, schools, churches and nursing homes.

New this year, students will work sites that best align with their academic major and career interests. Also new: Five alumnae will be site leaders, including Carrigan Flotlin, ’19 and ‘20, who worked the original GCSU Gives Day in 2018.

“Being a part of the team that helped put it all together was amazing,” Flotlin said. “This opportunity gave me the chance to see student impact in the Milledgeville community through a different lens. It’s definitely exciting to see how far this day has come since the very first one, and I'm honored that I am still able to participate.”

The biggest volunteer site this year is the Life Enrichment Center’s back-to-school “Kids Block Party” in the Urban Arts Village at 224 E. Walton St., Milledgeville.

Georgia College students will help set up booths and run games and learning activities for children. The university’s Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy will give away copies of “Thunder Learns to Read,” written by a faculty member. Thunder—the university’s Bobcat mascot—will be there along with Georgia College President Cathy Cox for a reading at 10 a.m. School supplies, packed by students, will also be distributed.

Other GCSU Gives Day sites include:

•    Oconee River Greenway, 420 E. Greene St. Students will collect tires from the river, pick weeds and remove trash from trails. Tires will be brought to a collection site for recycling at 311 Linda Dr. N.E. as part of “Tire Amnesty Day,” proclaimed by the Baldwin County Commissioners.

•    Salamander Springs Farm, 178 Hitchcock Rd. Students will pick weeds, mulch, prune and clear trails.

•    Lakeview Academy, 220 N. ABC St. Students will clean and beautify area to create a bird sanctuary.

•    Central State Hospital, 171 Allen Rd. Students will paint a mural and create a Zen garden for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health.

•    Milledgeville Cares, 121 Thomas St. S.E. Students will paint baseboards, window trims and a porch.

•    Linus Project, 220 S. Wayne St. Students will make ‘no-sew’ blankets for celebration of the project’s Milledgeville chapter.

•    Georgia’s Old Capital Heritage Center, 95 Depot Circle Dr. Students will set up and help run a fundraiser, “Art in the Park.”

•    Milly Free Fridge,601 S. Wilkinson St. Students will pack food items at Magnolia Ballroom on campus to transport to Milly Free Fridge.

•    Georgia War Veteran’s Home, 2249 Vision HWY. Students will play bingo and cornhole with vets in the Birdsong Recreation Center.

•    Midway Hills Primary School, 375 Blandy Rd. Students will assemble a chicken coop and green house.

•    Heart of Georgia Animal Care, 62 GA-22. Students will clean kennels, walk animals and paint a picnic table.

•    Green Acres Health and Rehab, 313 Allen Memorial Dr. Students will play bingo with senior citizens and polish fingernails.