Elizabethtown College held its annual Into the Streets day of community service Saturday, Oct. 28. This event started in 1994, and this was its 23rd year at the College. Into the Streets is sponsored by the Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE).

The participants had the opportunity to put into action Etown’s motto, “Educate for Service.” Students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members worked together to make the community a better place. Those involved worked on over 55 various projects in the community, at the College or at Elizabethtown’s Fall Fest.

Into the Streets is not just an event that happens at Etown. Other universities, community services programs, nonprofit organizations and national groups participate as well. Millersville University, the University of Pittsburgh and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania are among the other schools nearby who also strive to improve their communities on this day of service.

Photo courtesy of the Momentum Society

Some students helped out with Elizabethtown’s annual Fall Fest at the Elizabethtown Fairgrounds. The Fall Fest had a variety of activities for children, including food trucks, games and face paintings. There was also a haunted barn people could visit. Sophomore Adeline Romig collected tickets outside of the haunted barn. Romig loved the “community feel” of the event present not only among the Etown students but in all of the Elizabethtown community. She said this “made the event very exciting and made [her] proud to participate.”

Inside one of the barns, students prepared crafts for children to make. Most of these students were from various education clubs on campus.

Junior Maura McDonald volunteered by making crafts with the kids. She thinks this event was a wonderful way to be involved with the community.

“I liked interacting with the kids and their families,” McDonald said.

Junior Julie Weeks enjoyed Into the Streets and believes “it is a good community event.” Volunteering at Fall Fest allowed her to participate in a way that related to her major.

Junior Rebecca Young was also involved with the crafts at Fall Fest. She enjoyed helping the children trace their hands and showing them how to paint with cotton swabs. Overall, Young enjoyed the event because “it was great working with the students in the community and their families.”

Other students worked at other places in the community. Junior Hui Liu worked at the Bethesda Block Party for a church mission group.

At this event, they blocked off an entire street, and there were many activities for children to participate in like bowling games as well as basketball in the street.

Liu cleaned dishes, served food and took pictures of the children at the event to capture the fun moments of the day. He also took pictures at the children’s photo booth and helped to rake leaves.

He enjoyed helping at the event, especially because all of the children were so kind to the volunteers. It helped him to understand that volunteers are always needed.

Liu believes this event impacted him because “it’s important to be able to recognize there is always an opportunity to help those in need.”