Eastern Michigan University students took pride in Ypsilanti on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to noon, by volunteering for Ypsilanti P.R.I.D.E. Day, an annual event intended to nurture community pride and inspire local business growth through beautification of the city’s environment.
About 70 EMU students signed up to participate, and 23 of those students were in Depot Town, according to Kylie Fagan, a student affiliated with Ypsi P.R.I.D.E. through the VISION office at EMU.
Other sites of attention for student volunteers were Frog Island and the water tower.
VISION, which stands for Volunteers Incorporating Service Into Our Neighborhoods, is a student group that provides students who have a desire to volunteer around the community with a multitude of service opportunities.
Although this was the first year that VISION formed a student group for P.R.I.D.E. Day, it seemed like it was a success in other ways as well.
“More people have been coming and asking, ‘What’s going on, can we help?’ and just stopping their day to help out,” Fagan said.
Students from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Kiara Purcell, Shante’ Jackson and KiMonyca McCoggle, were also on hand at the event, clearing the sidewalks of litter and cigarette butts.
It was their first time volunteering, but it’s also a sorority ritual.
“We’re not from Ypsi, but we are students at Eastern,” Purcell said. “[The sorority has] done it every year for the past 10 years, so we just kept the tradition going and decided to come help clean up Ypsi.”
Students who participated became involved for various reasons, but EMU encourages its students to engage in community service.
“A lot of people from sororities and Greek life sign up because they need volunteer hours,” Lauren Golubski, another student affiliated with Ypsi P.R.I.D.E., said.
“We do a lot of community service,” Purcell said.
