Students give back at Community Service Experience

^{By: Andrew Mees, Director of College and Athletics Communications  Communications@bloomfield.edu}

Bloomfield College gave both prospective and current students a unique opportunity to give back on Nov. 16, as the institution held its first-ever “Community Service Experience Day” on the campus grounds.

A partnership between the institution’s Office of Admission and Center for Student Leadership and Engagement (CSLE), the hybrid four-hour event gave Bloomfield students present and future the opportunity to make an impact around the world while earning documented community service hours. 

For prospective students, the hours can be used to help earn the institution’s Community Service Scholarship should they decide to enroll.  Instant Admission Decisions were also offered prior to the first-time occasion, marking the latest in a fleet of creative initiatives to bring potential students closer to a real-world experience at Bloomfield College.

“Our primary goal for these events is to show students what it’s really like to be a part of our institution,” Bloomfield Director of Admission Nicole Cibelli said.  “There’s no better way to do that than to put them right alongside current Bloomfield students, and give them the opportunity to interact.  They are able to ask questions and get a sense of what college life is like here, while giving back to the community.  We had a wonderful turnout for this event, and we will be making this a regular part of our event schedule in the future.”

Participants were able to engage in a variety of service activities, including making snacks for Miracles for Mateo, an initiative that provides food to families while children are undergoing treatment in local hospitals.  Utilizing a culinary donation from on-campus provider Gourmet Dining Services, students also made sandwiches for the Sandwiches for Bridges Outreach Program, and created holiday and get-well cards for U.S. troops overseas and children in local hospitals.

In all, 40 prospective students attended the festivities, with 28 current students guiding the community service activities.  Students currently enrolled at the institution were each part of the College’s S.E.R.V.E. (Students Engaging in Real Volunteer Experience) initiative.

“We could not be happier with the turnout we had for this first-time event,” Coordinator for Service Learning and Diversity Initiatives Nereida Montijo said.  “Our S.E.R.V.E. members served as a great resource for potential students, and we all came together to help various charities.  This is definitely an event we are going to be doing in the future, and we hope to see it grow and see more prospective students get involved.”