On Saturday, close to 45 students served six Detroit sites as a part of Make A Difference Day, a one-day volunteering opportunity supported by groups such as Habitat for Humanity, REACH, Inc., and Motor City Blight Busters. This year was the first time sponsors of the program reached out to undergraduate University students for help.
"Detroit has the greatest need right now," said Anika Goss-Foster, an organizer of the event. "Make A Difference Day falls at a time when Detroit is reaching out to the neighborhood for the Devil's Night to prevent arson fire."
Devil's Night - Oct. 30 - is often marred by arson, vandalism and violence throughout the Detroit area.
Besides University students, Make A Difference Day attracted more than 200 Detroit residents as volunteers. The event is a nationwide service program in which volunteers help to clean demolished houses, visit senior citizens' homes and finish ongoing construction projects at community centers.
SNRE sophomore Gweneth Newman, who painted rooms in an elderly woman's home, said the day in Detroit inspired her to volunteer in the future.
"I learned that volunteering is really beneficial, not only to the people you are helping but (to) yourself," she said. "It inspires me to (want) to help more. Volunteering is almost addicting in a way."
As the event was Newman's first exposure to the Detroit neighborhood, she said her involvement allowed her to see a kind of life that differs from her own.
"This is a great opportunity to get hands-on experience," she said. "Detroit is a great place to start. You feel that you have helped people. I am getting a sense of achievement because people are openly thankful and they appreciate what you are doing."
Engineering first-year student Heidi Savin, who worked as a volunteer in Detroit throughout high school, said this year's event was a different experience.
"I have never done construction stuff before," she said, explaining that she used to play with kids in service centers. Savin boarded up four deserted buildings Saturday to prevent people from starting fires.
"Detroit has been neglected," she said. "The buildings will be really beautiful if people take care of them. I should go down and do what I can."
Melissa Hyman, a first-year graduate student in the School of Social Work, went with her husband to board up homes. Hyman said her day was unique because she met other students and volunteers from outside Ann Arbor.
"Having all of us down there is important individually in terms of opening up your eyes," she said. "It's important we have our presence down there to let people know we care."
Hyman hopes the event will motivate more students to participate in the future and said she was slightly disappointed by the turnout.
"(My husband and I) thought a lot more students would take this opportunity," Hyman said. "It's a wonderful experience to meet more Detroit residents. You feel like you are helping out for doing something for the weekend. ... It's just one day."
Hyman's husband, Andrew Milstein, a sophomore at Eastern Michigan University, said he looked forward to more people receiving the underlying message of the one-day event.
"One day, even in itself, does not make a difference," Milstein said. "One day is a token gesture. I do believe little things collectively do a difference."
The one-day project, Goss-Foster explained, is a collaborative effort of Project Serve, the Center for Learning through Community Service, the Michigan Neighborhood AmeriCorps' program and the AmeriCorps' Elder Serve.
Goss-Foster said the day was valuable to students because they saw visible results of their achievements. She said the program brings many students to Detroit who otherwise would have volunteered only in the Ann Arbor area.