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New BSC students reach out and serve community

New BSC students reach out and serve community

For Immediate Release
Aug. 18, 2017

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—More than 450 Birmingham-Southern College students, BSC President Linda Flaherty-Goldsmith, and several staff members will participate in service projects around the Birmingham area on Saturday, Aug. 19, as part of New Student Orientation.

Thirty-four teams of new and returning students will spend the morning working at a range of parks, nonprofit organizations, and agencies across the metro area, including Red Mountain Park, Habitat for Humanity building sites, Sims Garden, Urban Kids, and the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve.  

The day of service before classes begin on Wednesday, Aug. 23, has become a tradition at BSC. “The goal is to introduce incoming students to their new hometown and connect them with community partners,” said Kristin Harper ’92, director of the Bunting Center for Engaged Study and Community Action.

This year’s incoming class at Birmingham-Southern surpassed last year’s record, with nearly 400 first-year and transfer students. The new students come from the 12-state southeastern region and from as far away as Hawaii and Alaska.

Students will gather with their Orientation teams at Munger Auditorium on the BSC campus at 9:30 a.m. and depart by bus to their service sites at 10 a.m. The groups will work on site until 3 p.m. when they return to campus. That evening, the students will gather again for dinner and hear from Rev. Hill Carmichael ’02, executive director of Urban Ministry Inc., about the importance of community engagement during college.

List of sites BSC students will be serving:
(Sites BSC President Linda Goldsmith-Flaherty will be serving from 10 a.m. to noon are denoted by an asterisk.)

  • Avondale United Methodist Church – 500 40th St. South*
  • Bush Hills neighborhood clean-up – 8th Ave. W. and Graymont Ave.*
  • NorthStar Youth Ministries – 700 8th Ave. West
  • BSC EcoSCape – on campus
  • Railroad Park – 1600 1st Ave. North
  • Jones Valley Teaching Farm – 701 25th St. North*
  • East Lake United Methodist Church – 7753 1st Ave. South
  • Oliver Elementary garden – 6871 6th Ct. South
  • Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve – 1214 81st St. South
  • Habitat work sites – 6005 Ave. D. in Fairfield, 164 Newport Dr. in Hueytown
  • Red Mountain Park – 2011 Frankfurt Dr.
  • Turkey Creek Nature Preserve – 3906 Turkey Creek Road, Pinson
  • Urban Ministry (Urban Kids/West End Community Garden) – 1229 Cotton Ave.*