From www.taylor.edu - Taylor University, integrating faith and learning

Taylor Students, Faculty and Staff Ready for Community Plunge

08.24.2009

College students characteristically spend the first week of classes catching up with their friends, 2008 Community Plungeorganizing their rooms and starting their homework. Taylor students will be doing all of those things during the first week in September, but they will also be reaching out to the local community.

Approximately 600 people will participate in Community Plunge on Thursday, September 3. Community Plunge is comprised of a number of service projects focusing on the Upland, Ind., community. Service opportunities include painting playground equipment, sorting eyeglasses, gardening, picking up roadside trash and sealing picnic tables, benches and pavilions.

The Plunge originated in 1993 as part of freshman student orientation, but the event grew with the addition of sophomores, juniors, seniors, faculty and staff members.

Community Plunge starts at 9:00 a.m. on September 3 and ends at 4 p.m. with various shifts available for volunteers. Taylor officials inquired of local businesses, churches and residents for worksite leads prior to this event.

A 1999 joint resolution sponsored by Indiana State Representative P. Eric Turner and the late State Senator David Ford honored Taylor's Community Plunge in both houses of the Indiana State Legislature.

"We look forward to the Community Plunge every year," said Mary Rayburn, director of student ministries. "It is a great way for our students to learn about and meet people from the local community, as well as find programs, projects and organizations where they can plug in throughout the year. We are thankful for the partnership we have with our local community leaders which makes this day possible."

Stephanie Leis

 

About Taylor University: Founded in 1846, Taylor University is an interdenominational liberal arts university of evangelical faith located in Upland, Ind. The 2010 U.S. News and World Report survey America's Best Colleges ranked Taylor the number one Baccalaureate College in the Midwest. It marked Taylor's third straight top ranking following ten straight years of being ranked in the region's Top Three.
 
Taylor University is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).