Goshen College students take part in Community Engagement Day

Hundreds of Goshen College students fanned out around Elkhart County.

They volunteered to do a variety of jobs like cleaning, yard work, painting and repairs.

It's part of the college's 19th Annual Community Engagement Day.

Goshen College freshmen worked at nine different locations in the Goshen-Elkhart area.

More than 25 students worked at the Kids Care Facility—a division of the Goshen Boys and Girls Club.

“Having 26 first year college students out today helps us knock out a big portion of our to-do list. We serve kids in the afternoon so our time in the morning to do projects is very limited. So to have this many extra hands, it makes us get a lot more work done,” said Tanner Picket, Unit Director at the Boys and Girls Club.

“I think volunteering and things like that, I mean, it opens your eyes to a wider community and kind of helps become a more global citizen which is one of the goals of Goshen College,” said freshman, Olivia Clemens.

Students taking part say they are glad to be here and be a part of it, among other things, they get a better feel for what Goshen is all about and also give back to the community.

They say in the grand scheme of things, doing little things like this can add up.

“We are all human. We're all kind of in it together. So we just like to come out into the community and show other people what we are about and how we are out here to help other people, to serve. We're all, you know, sons and daughters of God so we are here to help other people,” said Quinton Read.

“Coming to Goshen it helped me open up my eyes a lot more and like see like a broader world, because I didn't even know there was a Boys and Girls Club here. And even though this is like a small thing to do, it’s still big on the community and it shows that Goshen is a very, good character school,” said freshman, Trajan Dixon.

One group of freshmen canoed the Elkhart River collecting trash as they paddled.