CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — Penn State Lehigh Valley students spent the week of spring break volunteering across the Lehigh Valley through the Mini-Days of Caring program organized by the Office of Student Affairs.
Students were invited to sign up for one to four days of service depending on their interests and availability.
Day one, March 6, was spent at Phoebe Home in Allentown. Student volunteers spent the day with residents in memory care providing socialization and sensory stimulation through a variety of games and other activities
“These residents love intergenerational activities. And volunteers like the Penn State Lehigh Valley students help the employees by giving these residents special attention,” said DeeDee Urffa, one of the community life coordinators at Phoebe Home. “The caring I see from these college students shown to people they don’t know touches me. I am impressed they are willing to give up their spring break to do this.”
Sim Singh, a senior psychology major at Penn State Lehigh Valley, was one of the student volunteers at Phoebe Home.
“It is a shame that there are so many elderly who have been forgotten after paying their dues to society. People forget they are human begins with emotions and feelings," said Singh. "I think it is fantastic that Penn State Lehigh Valley gave us this opportunity to serve the community and arranged for four days to give back. We all need to have more empathy."
On day two, March 7, students went to the Sixth Street Shelter in Allentown to help distribute food to those who rely on weekly food distributions from the shelter; restock the shelves at the food pantry; organize donation shelves for resident apartments; and help clean the child care and play room.