Participating in Trident United Way’s Day of Caring is an annual USL tradition. This year we supported projects at 11 different sites, ranging from the International Primate Protection League to Fresh Future Farm, among others. In total, our faculty, students, parents, and alumni contributed over 500 hours of service to our community as part of this Learning Outside the Classroom experience.

USL student Nick Rosen shares:

The Day of Caring is when multiple people put helping others into their heart and set out to help companies and groups to make their buildings and lands look better. This year, I went to Carter May Retirement Home to help with gardening and to have a some fun with the residents. I feel like we did more to help the place itself than we did last year at Windwood Farms, where we organized their garage. This year we put leaves into bags and took some branches off of trees. We also had lunch with the residents. They ordered catering from Gilligan’s, and we dispersed among the residents there. We chatted with a lady about science fiction and scientifically cloning sheep and human beings. It allowed me to learn about all the exotic things that the older generation knows and all of their stories that they always love telling anyone who asks.

USL student James Moss shares:

I went to Aldersgate Methodist Church in North Charleston for the Day of Caring – my first year at USL and first DOC. During winter it holds an emergency cold shelter for homeless people and people who want to stay safe. The neighborhood wasn’t the safest so even non-homeless people might want to stay there for the night. We helped people get the shelter ready for visitors.

We were all assigned tasks, and I was assigned to clean bathrooms. Bathrooms!!! I accepted my fate, and an adult and I cleaned showers with cleansers and paper towels. I’m glad we did that so I  could experience what janitors do all of the time, so I would try harder to leave a small mess, instead of a large one. I’m also glad because I feel like nearly no one wanted that job. Eventually we finished, and in the end I’m glad that I knew what it was like to volunteer for this project.

USL student Emma Bluestein shares:

The Day of Caring is the one time of the year you can see people from all over the tri-county area helping out complete strangers. This is my fourth year doing the Day of Caring, and I have helped out everywhere from the South Santee Senior Center to the little preschoolers at Chicora Elementary. I love doing the Day of Caring every year because of how it makes me feel. When you help out people who do not usually get that amount of support, they are so happy. That, in turn, makes you very happy and proud of yourself, and to proud see that what you are doing makes such a big difference in other’s lives. Through this experience I have learned that there will always be people out there in need, but just a little volunteering and devotion to the cause can go a long way.