AMERICUS — Celebrating its 110th anniversary, Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) organized its first-ever day of service throughout the Americus Community in 2016, and it was dubbed “110 Minutes of Service.” Continuing that tradition, the University organized the 2017 version — the “GSW Day of Service 2017.”

Approximately 150 GSW faculty, staff and students participated in work projects at eight different sites across the community. Those work sites included the Sumter County Parks & Recreation Department, the Sumter

County Humane Society, Furlow Charter School, Americus Main Street (two different projects), the Harvest of Hope Food Pantry, the Potter’s House (a non-profit healing home for women bound by addictive behaviors), and the GSW campus.
The work from the day ranged from animal grooming and food storage to painting and playground pressure washing. Each participant wore the same shirt and worked approximately two hours at their respective site.
At the Day of Service kickoff event Friday morning, GSW President Neal Weaver indicated that days where the campus comes together for a good cause are at the top of his list.
“Days like today are my favorite,” Weaver said. “When students, faculty and staff collaborate to make our community a better place, everyone benefits. Participating in these types of events is what makes working on a college campus great.”
In years to come, GSW plans to expand the project by increasing participation and increasing the number of work sites.
For information on how to become involved, contact the GSW Department of University Relations at univrel@gsw.edu.