Randolph College students, employees volunteer in community for Day of Caring

Many members of the Randolph College community went to service projects around Lynchburg for the College's annual Day of Caring on Friday.

The event brings together new students, orientation leaders, staff, faculty, and administrators to make a positive difference in the Lynchburg community. It also helps students learn more about the city that will be their home during college.

Participants painted, pulled weeds, washed windows, and played games with elderly people, among other activities.

Randolph College President John Klein led a group to the Adult Care in Lynchburg, where they visited with day care participants and played games with them.

Susan Klein, the wife of President Klein, and a group of students went to the ARC of Central Virginia, where they pulled weeds and washed floorboards.

A group of transfer students went to Riverside Park to paint posts and picnic tables. Paula Tannenbaum, volunteer coordinator for Lynchburg Parks and Recreation, said it was great to have students helping at the park for the second year in a row. "This is their park," she said. "It's the closest city park to campus. They need to know it."

Below, Danielle Robinson '12, Christina Budd '13, and Robert Villanueva '14 paint posts at Riverside Park. To the right, Alan Sheaffer '14 does the same.

To the left, Bunny Goodjohn, an English professor, paints a post with her black Labrador, Bubba. Below, Emily Sirney '15 and Caity Hall '14 give a makeover to picnic tables beneath a gazebo at Riverside Park.

Another group went to the Old City Cemetery, a historic landmark in Lynchburg with beautiful landscaping.

They quickly cleaned and polished memorial plaques at the cemetery, where hundreds of Civil War soldiers, former slaves, and Lynchburg residents are buried. After they finished their work, the students toured the cemetery to learn more about its history.

To the right, Danielle Lewis '15 scrubs a memorial monument at the cemetery.

Another group of students went to Amazement Square, a children's activity center and museum, where they added colorful tile pieces to a mosaic depicting the history of Lynchburg. They helped piece together a segment that tells the story of Lynchburg during the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

Some of the students climbed a scaffold to work on the mosaic.

They smashed tiles to create small, colorful shards. Then, they spread mortar on them and attached them to the work of art, fitting them in like pieces of a puzzle.

Amanda Denny, director of student activities, and Glenna Gray '14 add pieces of tile to the mosaic.

Robert Santmyer '15 and Emily Jamerson '15 fix mosaic tiles to the wall that will depict Lynchburg's history.

Other groups went to the Academy of Fine Arts, the Lynchburg Visitor Information Center, the Jubilee Family Development Center, the downtown YMCA, the Daily Bread, Lynchburg Grows, the Boys and Girls Club of Central Virginia, Point of Honor, and Rush Homes.

The Day of Caring united the campus in service to the community, serving as a great start to the new semester.