With coffee in hand and work boots on their feet, 79 University of Mary Washington students gathered in front of the University Center for COAR’s annual Into the Streets event on Saturday, Oct. 1.
COAR, which stands for Community Outreach and Resources, is a student-run volunteer office established at UMW in 1990. The office serves community needs through an active exchange of service and learning while continually striving to find solutions to problems that challenge the community. Last year, COAR students logged more than 17,200 hours of volunteer service in the Fredericksburg area, earning the organization recognition on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the sixth straight year. Into the Streets event is just one of six annual projects in which they serve the local community.
Despite the dreary weather, the volunteers split into groups and headed to seven service projects across the city, including building picnic tables with Habitat for Humanity, preparing meals for the homeless shelter, cleaning up the Confederate Cemetery and working with Downtown Greens.
“It’s very special to be a part of the COAR family,” said UMW junior and COAR member Megan Turner. “This is a great way for me to give back to the Fredericksburg community.”
Just down the street from UMW, students volunteering for the City Cemetery worked hard to clean up site debris and pull weeds away from the grave stones. Sophomore Riley Anderson and freshman Sarah Carlton teamed up to clear ivy throughout the morning. Sliding on their gloves, the students weren’t afraid to get dirty as they spent the morning in the weeds.
Meanwhile, UMW senior Mona Osmer worked with a team of students at Downtown Greens, Fredericksburg’s community greenspace. Founded in 1995, Downtown Greens promotes environmental care by preserving two urban gardens, using sustainable gardening methods and passing on their knowledge to children through a weekly Garden Club. Osmer touched up paint, while others lent a hand outside working with natural sundials for the organization.
“It feels good to be a part of something bigger than yourself,” said Osmer. “COAR works hard to give back to the community and I’m happy to be part of that.”
For more information on COAR and how to get involved, please visit http://students.umw.edu/coar.