Feature Story

October 14, 2011 | By Cole Hatcher

Ohio Wesleyan University’s 2011 Heritage Day to Celebrate Community Service

Members of the Ohio Wesleyan University community are invited to “roll up their sleeves” November 9 to commemorate OWU’s historic legacy of service and to help their neighbors in need.

OWU’s 2011 Heritage Day event will celebrate the University’s historic tradition of community service learning with several hands-on opportunities to make a difference.

“There will be plenty of opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to roll up their sleeves and get involved in a service project on campus,” says Nancy Bihl Rutkowski, assistant director of OWU’s Student Involvement Office. “In particular, we will be joining forces with Delaware Habitat for Humanity and the OWU chapter of Habitat to build storage sheds.”

The construction will take place in the green space between the R.W. Corns Building and Beeghly Library.

“In addition, we will be assembling toiletry bags and sewing sleeping bags for the homeless,” Rutkowski says.

Anyone interested in volunteering for Heritage Day should sign up over the noon hour from October 31-November 4 in the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center Atrium.

The Heritage Day theme was chosen, in part, as a reflection of Ohio Wesleyan being named for three consecutive years to President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. In 2009, OWU also was awarded one of three Presidential Awards given nationally for Excellence in General Community Service.

In 2012, OWU’s Heritage Day will examine the University’s residential campus. In 2013, the event will celebrate Greek Life, and in 2017, it will commemorate Ohio Wesleyan’s 175th Anniversary.

“Ohio Wesleyan has such a rich history,” Rutkowski says. “Our annual Heritage Day is a great way to celebrate everything that makes OWU special.”