GREENVILLE, Pa.—In one short week in April, a spot in Riverside Park in Greenville, Pa., Thiel College’s hometown, went from an empty green space to a large, exciting new playground for community children.
The new playground, which is already a hit with local kids, wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and service of more than 350 Thiel College students.
The whirlwind five-day, all-volunteer effort brought together Thiel students, faculty and staff and Greenville-area teenagers, retirees, parents and many others. The playground build served as this year’s “Spring into Action Day” project for the Thiel campus. Spring into Action is the annual “spring clean-up” day, which is scheduled to coincide with Earth Day. Students often clean up campus or downtown areas of Greenville, but this year Dean of Students Mike McKinney had another idea.
“The playground was a very visible, tangible project,” said McKinney. “We thought the playground would be a legacy that our students can leave behind instead of just picking up trash or raking leaves.”
A $50,000 state grant and fundraising efforts in the local community helped pay for the equipment, which is valued at $300,000 but actually cost $120,000, thanks to donated labor and materials. Without the army of volunteers, who worked more than 1,000 shifts during the week, the park would not have been built as cost-effectively as it was. The biggest workday for the project was Thiel’s Spring into Action Day on Saturday, April 17, where nearly 440 volunteers, most of them Thiel students, brought the project close to completion. In fact, McKinney said the Thiel students helped get the project back on schedule that day since the project was about a day behind due to difficulties with the weather.
“I decided to volunteer because I have always enjoyed helping kids and trying my best to let kids have fun,” said Ronnell Hunt, a first-year student from New Castle, Pa., who helped set up swings and laid tarp, pebbles and mulch for the playground’s foundation. “I learned how to work together as a team with complete strangers in order to get the job done.”
The new playground in Riverside Park includes monkey bars, a castle maze, two bouncy bridges, a twisty slide, a dragon slide, a tunnel, a train and a train depot, among other amenities.
“Thiel College and Greenville working together for the betterment of the community is a natural fit,” said Dr. Troy VanAken, Thiel College president. “Not only does it align with the goals of our new strategic plan, which includes an emphasis on community service and being good citizens, but it helps create a stronger connection between the borough and our faculty, staff and students who live, work and learn here. We look forward to continuing this partnership in the future and helping to make additional contributions to the local community.”
Besides learning valuable lessons about community service, some students earned college credit with internships—like senior Kyle Kohut, an environmental science major from Hermitage, Pa., who served as the project’s inventory manager, or senior Cylvie Cyuzuzo, a business communication major from Rwanda, Africa, who handled some public relations for the project.
“Overall, it was a great experience—working and volunteering with them,” said Cyuzuzo. “I hope the kids enjoy the park!”
The success of this year’s Spring into Action Day project in Riverside Park already has the campus thinking about what can be done for the community next year!
About Thiel College
Thiel College is an independent college founded in the Lutheran tradition. Located in Greenville, Pa., the College offers 60 majors and minors, 24 varsity sports, and an 11:1 student-faculty ratio. The College is also home to a new Master of Science in speech-language pathology and 2Master of Business Administration. Both master’s degree programs offer innovative and accelerated five-year paths which allow students to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in five years. The speech-language pathology program also has an accelerated 15-month graduate-level program. The M.B.A. program also has a 12-month post-graduate program.A dedicated faculty paired with dynamic research and internship opportunities produce numerous graduate school and job placements. Coeducational from its beginnings, the College remains committed to combining tradition with innovation as it celebrates 150 years.