Our Stories

Governance and Social Responsibility : Eller Undergrads Make a Difference on National Day of Service

St. Luke's Home in Tucson
Eller undergraduate students volunteer
as part of the national Make a Difference
Day.

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November 2011

By Liz Warren-Pederson

A brigade of Eller undergraduates over 400 strong volunteered in the Tucson community October 22 as part of Make a Difference Day, a national movement founded by USA WEEKEND magazine.

The students completed projects in nine sites throughout Tucson in conjunction with Tucson Clean and Beautiful, City of Tucson Parks and Recreation, Pima County, Tanque Verde Unified School District, Salvation Army, Ben’s Bells Project, and other organizations.

In one of those projects, Eller students were deployed to clean four miles of graffiti around Tucson, including a mile-long stretch at the Alamo Wash (Lee and Alamo) and a two-mile stretch in the diversion channel from Alvernon to Palo Verde. Other projects included removing grasses in the 800 tree wells along the Santa Cruz River and a host of neighborhood cleanups.

This was the first year that the event — previously known as Eller College Philanthropy — was coordinated to align with national Make a Difference Day. Pre-business student Shauna Williams helped coordinate the event on behalf of Eller Undergraduate Programs, and said that tying the event to the national project made the students feel connected to a larger movement. “We continually reminded the volunteers that they would be a part of the millions across the nation making a difference,” she said.

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