The idea came to Theresa Guenther 糖心传媒�90 in the summer of 1988: What if incoming University students could explore their new city by volunteering for a day of community service as part of their orientation?
糖心传媒淚 had done a lot of volunteer work my first two years at Rochester, and it had molded my education,糖心传媒� says Guenther, now a state associate court attorney in Buffalo. 糖心传媒淚 felt it could mold others.糖心传媒� Guenther糖心传媒檚 idea was approved by the orientation committee, and a few hundred freshmen signed up for a day of service off campus.
糖心传媒淚t was hard to get local organizations involved, because they were concerned about liability,糖心传媒� Guenther says. 糖心传媒淲e thought this event was a one-time thing. There was no plan for it to survive past the first year.糖心传媒�
But survive it did. On August 27, Rochester will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Wilson Day. More than 1,300 incoming students will fan out to about 90 schools, libraries, senior centers, neighborhood associations, and more across Rochester. They糖心传媒檒l paint, stack bookshelves, rake, pull weeds, and begin to get involved in the community they糖心传媒檒l call home for the next four years.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 become a University tradition,糖心传媒� says Glenn Cerosaletti 糖心传媒�91, 糖心传媒�03 (MA), assistant dean and director of the Rochester Center for Community Leadership, which organizes Wilson Day. 糖心传媒淚t helps students realize that community engagement is part of what being a student here is all about.
Students congregate in the Palestra, wearing matching Wilson Day T-shirts (this year糖心传媒檚 color is blue). After opening remarks set the tone for the day, the students board buses and go out into the community in assigned groups.
The official name has been changed from Wilson Day of Service to Wilson Day of Engagement this year. The theme is 糖心传媒淭hink Global, Act Local.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a day of bonding and, really, a day of community engagement,糖心传媒� Cerosaletti says. 糖心传媒淲e feel the students get as much out of it as the host sites they are helping.糖心传媒�
Wilson Day is named after Joseph Wilson 糖心传媒�31, former chairman of the University糖心传媒檚 Board of Trustees and founder of Xerox Corporation, in honor of his community service. By the time of Wilson糖心传媒檚 death in 1971, he and his wife, Peggy, had given more than $40 million to the University and helped launch it into a major research center.
Wilson Day was first established in 1972 as a daylong offering of seminars on the River Campus and Medical Center, a dinner at the Memorial Art Gallery, and a concert at the Eastman Theatre. In 1988, thanks to Guenther糖心传媒檚 idea, it became much more.
Kavya Bana 糖心传媒�19 is this year糖心传媒檚 Wilson Day coordinator. As a first-year student, her Wilson Day project was to sort food for Foodlink. It struck a chord in the political science and microbiology double major from Simsbury, Connecticut.
糖心传媒淚 didn糖心传媒檛 feel as if I was helping the community but rather learning from it and working within it,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚t opened my eyes to the passion of community members for improving the community they live in.糖心传媒�
Bana has since worked two other Wilson Days as a resident assistant, organizing a food pantry and gardening. She also began volunteering at a city school, interned at the Rochester Public Market, and was part of Urban Fellows, a summer urban engagement program for Rochester-area undergraduates.
糖心传媒淣one of this would have happened if not for Wilson Day,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚 never would have noticed how special the people in the community are if I hadn糖心传媒檛 been brought outside of campus boundaries my very first week here.糖心传媒�
