Caitlyn M. Gerardi '19
On Saturday, October 7, Siena Saints of all majors, class years, and backgrounds gathered together to serve the Greater Capital Region. They had each decided to participate in Siena’s Community Service Day, an event the college hosts each semester. It is this event, and others like it, that reflect Siena’s Franciscan values and its desire to bring them outside of campus for the benefit of others.
Participating Saints worked at organizations such as such as the Autism Society of the GCR, Capital City Rescue Mission, the city of Cohoes, Patroon Land Farm (part of the Regional Food Bank), St. Paul's Center, and the WC Little Memorial Park Association.
They helped out with the Duck Derby through the Autism Society, prepared and served meals, painted, helped with various yard work, harvested food through the Patroon Land Farm, and cleaned up nature trails, among other things.
Victoria Fioravanti ’19, one of the Program Coordinators at Siena’s Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy, was one of the lead students working on the SIENAserves Community Service Day. Fioravanti said she felt that the value of Community Service Day comes from its impact on the community at large, however small.
“Critics will say [that] ‘just doing service for one day is not going to make that big of a difference.’ I feel bad for people who think that way,” said Fioravanti. “They do not realize that yes, this is just a drop in the bucket, but without millions of drops, the bucket would be empty. That one drop you put in, helped fill that bucket. That one drop made a difference. There is always work to be done.”
