Delaware Tech celebrates 50th anniversary through volunteerism

As the nation celebrated National Volunteer Week, Delaware Technical Community College continues to celebrate its yearlong 50th anniversary through volunteerism - Delivering Excellence, Changing Lives through service to others. College employees and students will be completing over 50 campus and community service projects throughout 2016 - one service project for every year of the college’s existence.

Delaware Tech employees completed the college’s first service project in February, volunteering at the Polar Bear Plunge in Rehoboth Beach to benefit Special Olympics Delaware. Delaware Tech volunteers donated 44 hours over three days registering individuals to take the Plunge.

Since then, the college has completed numerous county, state and international community service projects. Delaware Tech nursing students from the Terry Campus Student Nurses Association collected 122 pairs of socks for homeless men and served dinner at the Dover Interfaith Mission, where they distributed the socks. Retirees from the Stanton Campus collected food and necessities for the Little Sisters of the Poor - this effort resulted in two carloads of items to benefit elderly, low-income residents.

The Terry Campus Faculty Senate collected 150 new coats, as well as hats and scarves for The Shepherd Place, a nonprofit homeless shelter for women and children in Dover. Faculty and staff from the Terry and Owens campuses participated in a Bowlathon to benefit the Greater Milford Boys & Girls Club to support Milford Youth. George Campus Student Affairs, and students and faculty from the allied health program partnered with the Blood Bank of Delmarva to host a health fair and blood drive.

In addition, several service projects have garnered statewide participation including the college’s partnership with the Food Bank of Delaware and the General Assembly to donate items to the Food Bank. Delaware Tech employees and students donated 5,000 pounds of food. In conjunction, students at the Stanton Campus entered the Food Bank’s CANgineering competition and raised additional funds for the cause. The entire college also participated in Rock Your Socks, a worldwide initiative to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day. Statewide, hundreds of pairs of socks were sold with proceeds benefiting the Down Syndrome Association of Delaware.

One Delaware Tech service project went international when a group of occupational therapy assistant and human services students from the Owens, Terry and George campuses traveled to Vietnam for 12 days to volunteer in orphanages and vocational training centers in Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Cam Ranh and Da Nang. In addition, they distributed food supplies to 171 families and helped build a home for a single mother with four children in rural Cam Ranh.

For more information and to see the projects as they are completed, go to www.dtcc.edu/50th.