Winter 2008: Register

Emory Cares

in Atlanta and Philadelphia and Frankfurt and . . .

By Eric Rangus

. . . Chicago and Houston and thirty-five other cities around the world. On Saturday, November 10, hundreds of Emory alumni, students, parents, faculty, and staff celebrated Emory Cares International Service Day, the Emory Alumni Association’s signature service project.

Habitat for Humanity builds were popular service projects for Emory Cares International Service Day. In West Palm Beach, Florida (top), Joel Cohen 74C 79MR wielded a circular saw while Elliott Yamada 02B assisted. In Durham, North Carolina (bottom), more than a dozen alumni volunteered at a build.

CREDIT

Now in its fifth year, Emory Cares has grown from a relatively small alumni effort to a worldwide celebration that involves every corner of the Emory community. Alumni cleaned beaches in San Diego; volunteered at an art festival in Los Angeles; prepared Thanksgiving baskets for the needy in Hollywood, Florida; and did yard work at a senior citizens’ home near Minneapolis.

The largest gathering was in Atlanta, where some four hundred volunteers donned Emory Cares T-shirts and fanned out to twenty-two service projects.

Chicago alumni took part in Alphapalooza at the Chicago Children’s Museum. They put on aprons emblazoned with letters of the alphabet, and in their pockets were items starting with that particular letter. “For the younger children, it was a chance to start learning the alphabet in a fun and interactive way,” said project coordinator Kate Balzer 99C.

Emory Cares was not limited to the United States. In Darmstadt, Germany, alumni volunteers distributed information about a German charity in India; other projects took place in England, India, Korea, Russia, and Spain.

The Emory Cares experience was fulfilling on a personal level, according to Leigh Hardison 85C, who helped with a Habitat for Humanity build in Fort Worth, Texas.

“I have never been so tired,” she said. “Still, the Habitat project was a wonderful experience, and well worth the time. I found it especially rewarding to get to work alongside the homeowner herself.”