On Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, Moravian’s ninth annual heritage day broke Lehigh Valley records as one of the most extensive volunteer efforts in the county’s history.
It boasted 1,100 student participants and, through partnerships with the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley and the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, added another 1,300 volunteers, accounting for total of 2,400 volunteers on the day of service.
The day began on the Makuvek Field, where students gathered into 32 volunteer groups between 9 – 9:30 a.m. Under sunny skies, Kristina Scesa, director for Civic Engagement who planned and organized the event, took the stage with a speech encouraging students to celebrate their beginnings, accomplishments, and importance.
“Today, we honor our beginning,” she said. “We celebrate where we are now, and we serve with the hope that when each of us moves a little, we make way for a brighter future.”
Following Scesa’s remarks, Michelle Rios, assistant director for Equity & Inclusion, read Moravian’s land acknowledgment declaration, acknowledging that the campus grounds were home to the Lenape, a native American tribe indigenous to the Lenapehoking, in modern-day Delaware, New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, and Southern New York.
Then, President Bryon Grigsby took the stage to encourage students to reflect on the support they have received from their families, teachers, coaches, and communities and to give back in that spirit.
The event kickoff concluded with a drone group photo before participants boarded yellow school buses to their respective project sites.
From 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., volunteers dispersed across 31 project sites, addressing various community needs.
On campus, student volunteers gathered at PPHAC to prepare medals for the Run for Downs Syndrome marathon, create cat toys for animal shelters, and make no-sew fleece tie blankets.
However, nearly every project was located off-campus this year, including efforts at Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering, habitat restoration along the Monocacy Creek Watershed, and reading sessions at William Penn and Lincoln elementary schools.
Student volunteers also joined Feed the Children in packing food and hygiene boxes to meet the needs of impoverished children. Among them was Gabriela Panizo, a foreign exchange student from Spain, who proudly recalled how their supplementary student efforts bolstered the non-profit’s philanthropic capabilities, enabling them to pack 600 boxes in just two hours.
Another off-campus site was the SouthSide Arts District Greenway clean-up, supervised by Katy Knibbs, assistant downtown manager. “It’s a total morale booster for the people who live and work here to see young people physically showing care for the community,” said Knibbs.
As the day drew to a close, volunteers returned to campus for lunch on the PPHAC Patio, followed by a lively block party hosted by the Moravian Activities Council and United Student Government, featuring games and activities. With a total of nearly 10,000 hours of volunteer service logged, Moravian’s Heritage Day continues to strengthen the connection between students and their community.
This event was make possible by the efforts of Kristina Scesa, Madison Van Duzer, and the Center for Career and Civic Engagement Office.
