Provided

The Cornell Club of Wisconsin-Madison volunteered at a Reach-A-Child warehouse, sorting and recording books to be distributed to first responders, like police officers and firefighters, so that they can give a book to a child in a crisis situation.

Provided

Rochelle Carino ’04 and her husband Ibrahima volunteered with the Cornell Club of the Central Valley (California) at a local food bank, FoodLink.

Julie Zagars

David Calvino '94 helps out with the Cornell Club of Arizona at St. Mary's Food Bank.

Cornell Cares Day – a worldwide student-alumni service event held each January that connects Cornellians to serve their local communities through direct, hands-on service projects – unites alumni and students in a day of service. Developed by the Cornell Public Service Center, Cornell Cares Day events were held in more than 30 cities – from California to New York to the Philippines – between Jan. 2 and 22.

Alumni organizations also engaged in a wide variety of philanthropic activities.

“It’s always great to see Cornellians turn out in such large numbers and combine our efforts to support our community,” said Julie Zagars ’94, who, along with members of the Cornell Club of Arizona, sorted nearly 5,000 pounds of food items donated to a food bank and packed 42,000 pounds of donations into emergency food boxes.

The Cornell Club of Pittsburgh volunteered with Computer Reach, a Pittsburgh humanitarian organization that refurbishes donated and used computers to provide equipment and support to organizations around the world that serve people in need.

The Cornell Alumni Association of Westchester provided volunteers to two not-for-profit organizations in Westchester County, New York: The Untermyer Gardens Conservancy in Yonkers, and Lyndhurst, a National Trust for Historic Preservation site in Tarrytown. “Historic Preservation in Action: Restoring the 1894 Bowling Alley at Lyndhurst” drew an enthusiastic crowd of volunteers assisting with ongoing preservation and restoration efforts at the 67-acre estate. The groups’ efforts were overseen by Tom Richmond, M.A. ’13, Lydhurst’s restoration project manager. The Cornell Club of Los Angeles volunteered with L.A. Kitchen, packaging fresh, nutritious, locally sourced produce into healthy meals for homebound older adults and other vulnerable residents.

Events were not limited to the Western Hemisphere. In the Philippines, Cornellians engaged in an outreach event at the White Cross Orphanage, and in Shenzen, China, volunteers worked in the entrepreneurial environment of Innovation Park on various projects.

Other Cornell Cares Day highlights:

• The Cornell Club of Monmouth & Ocean Counties (New Jersey) spent the day at OASIS Farm, a vocational training facility for young adults with autism in Middletown, New Jersey. The volunteers learned about Project OASIS (Ongoing Autistic Success in Society) and worked inside and outside of the farm to clean and organize it.

• The Cornell Club of Wisconsin hosted and served lunch and performed other volunteer services for Kathy’s House, a “hospital hospitality house” and home away from home for families in need of hospital care in the Milwaukee area.

• For the fifth year in a row, members of the Cornell Club of Oregon and Southwest Washington participated in serving a meal at Blanchet House, a Portland transitional homeless community shelter.

• The Cornell Club of Sacramento (California) volunteered with ReCreate, organizing donations and assembling art kits for upcoming classes. ReCreate is committed to reducing waste through art, education and imagination.

• The Cornell Club of Lexington (Kentucky) served lunch at the Hope Center, an organization that cares for homeless and at-risk persons.

• The Cornell Club of Sarasota-Manatee (Florida) volunteered at the Southern Guide Dog Campus for “Hug a Puppy.”

• In Miami, the Cornell Club of Greater Miami and the Florida Keys hosted a cleanup and gardening event at the Kampong tropical garden, which uses its unparalleled living collections to educate.

• The Cornell Club of Chicago cooked and served a meal for families staying at Ronald McDonald House next to Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

• The Cornell Alumni Association of Northern California helped build a new community in San Francisco with Habitat For Humanity.

• The Cornell Club of Washington, D.C., volunteered at two food banks and at a pet rescue.

• The Cornell Club of Southern Arizona volunteered at walk the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Linear Park Path.

• The Cornell Club of Wisconsin-Madison (Wisconsin) volunteered at Reach-A-Child Warehouse, sorting and recording books to be distributed to first responders, like police officers and firefighters, so they can give a book to a child in a crisis situation.

• The Cornell Club of San Antonio (Texas) volunteered at the SAReads Book Bank, sorting, shelving and organizing books.

• The Cornell Club of Greater Buffalo worked at Vive la Casa, a shelter for refugees seeking to make a refugee claim in Canada or who are pursuing asylum protection in the United States.

• The Cornell Club of Long Island helped prepare Island Harvest for its annual Coin Harvest Spring fundraiser.

• The Cornell Club of Rochester volunteered at the American Red Cross of Western and Central New York, creating comfort kits and installing fire detectors.

• Numerous Cornell alumni associations across the U.S. volunteered to feed the hungry in their communities, including the Cornell Club of Western Washington, the Cornell Club of Boston, the Cornell Alumni Association of Greater Houston, the Cornell Club of the Central Valley, the Cornell Club of Minnesota, the Cornell Club of Central Virginia, the Cornell Club of NYC, the Cornell Club of San Diego, the Cornell Club of Austin and the Cornell Club of the Greater Capital District.

For more information about Cornell Cares Day, visit the Public Service Center website.

Maja Anderson is assistant director of communications and community relations for the Cornell Public Service Center and Engaged Learning and Research.