Roger Williams University Freshman Class To Volunteer Across RI

BRISTOL, RI — The entire Roger Williams University freshman class will take part in a massive volunteer event to kick off the new school year. On Monday, all 1,100 students will help the community at one of 39 sites around Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts.

The Feinstein Community Connections program is named for the state's arguably most-well-known philanthropist, Alan Shawn Feinstein. Since the program's launch in 2005, students have completed more than 88,200 hours of volunteer work, the university said.

The community service event comes just one day before the first day of classes for the newly minted college students.

Some of this year's projects include painting the U.S.S. Massachusetts at Battleship Cove in Fall River, organizing food and clothing drives at Youth Pride Inc. in Providence and picking fresh produce at Sharing the Harvest Community Farm at the YMCA in South Dartmouth.

"This is a wonderful tradition that introduces our students from day one to the University’s commitment to learning through engagement with the community. I can’t think of a more exciting way to begin my time as President of RWU than to join the freshman class as we begin our RWU careers together by giving back," said Ioannis Miaoulis, who began his tenure as university president on Monday and will be volunteering at the Bristol Town Beach community garden and helping out at Linden Place and Mount Hope Farm.

Several volunteer sites are new this year, including Franklin Farm in Cumberland, the Girl Scouts of Southern New England's Camps Rocky Farm and Hoffman in Newport and South Kingstown, respectively, and Linden Place in Bristol. Here's a list of all 39 volunteer sites.

1. 134 Collaborative, 134 Mathewson St., Providence, R.I.

2. Audubon Society, 1401 Hope St., Bristol, R.I.

3. Battleship Cove, 5 Water St., Fall River, R.I.

4. Bristol Parks and Recreation, 40 Asylum Road, Bristol, R.I.

5. Benjamin Church Senior Center, 1020 Hope St., Bristol, R.I.

6. Casey Farm, 2325 Boston Neck Road, North Kingstown, R.I.

7. Coggeshall Farm Museum, 1 Colt Drive, Bristol, R.I.

8. Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy, Burnside Park, 40 Kennedy Plaza, Providence, R.I.

9. Fort Adams Trust, 90 Fort Adams Drive, Newport, R.I.

10. Franklin Court Independent/Assisted Living, 150 Franklin St., Bristol, R.I.

11. Franklin Farm Community Garden, 152 Abbott Run Valley Road, Cumberland, R.I.

12. Friend of the Quequechan River Rail Trail, Park at dirt lot across from 645 Rodman St., Fall River, M.A.

13. Girl Scouts of Southern New England – Camp Rocky Farm, 160 Carroll Ave., Newport, R.I.

14. Girl Scouts of Southern New England – Camp Hoffman, 2850 Ministerial Rd., South Kingstown, R.I.

15. Grace Barker Health, 54 Barker St., Warren, R.I.

16. Head Start, 285 Harrison St., Fall River, Mass.

17. Independence Park – Save The Bay, Thames St., Bristol, R.I.

18. James L. Maher Center, 906 Aquidneck Ave., Middletown, R.I.

19. Linden Place Mansion, 500 Hope St., Bristol, R.I.

20. Lucy’s Hearth, 19 Valley Road, Middletown, R.I.

21. Mount Hope Farm, 250 Metacom Ave., Bristol, R.I.

22. My Brother’s Keeper, 1015 Reed Road, Dartmouth, Mass.

23. Newport Historic Cemetery Commission, Common Burying Ground, God’s Little Acre entrance, Newport, R.I.

24. Norman Bird Sanctuary, 583 Third Beach Rd., Middletown, R.I.

25. North Burying Ground, 40 Asylum Rd., Bristol, R.I.

26. Portsmouth Senior Center, 110 Bristol Ferry Road, Portsmouth, R.I.

27. Rhode Island Blood Center, 405 Promenade St., Providence, R.I.

28. Roger Williams National Memorial, 282 N. Main St., Providence, R.I.

29. RWU, 1 Old Ferry Rd., Bristol, R.I.

30. Sandpipers Early Learning Center – Child & Family of R.I., 31 John Clarke Rd., Middletown, R.I.

31. Sandywoods Farm, 43 Muse Way, Tiverton, R.I.

32. Sharing the Harvest Community Farm – Dartmouth YMCA, 276 Gulf road, South Dartmouth, Mass.

33. Somerset Public Library, 1464 County St., Somerset, M.A.

34. St. John’s Episcopal Church, 61 Poplar St., Newport, R.I.

35. The Elms – The Preservation Society of Newport County, 7 Bellevue Ct., Newport, R.I.

36. Town of Bristol Conservation Commission, San Francisco Ave., Bristol, R.I.

37. Westport Town Farm – The Trustees, 830 Drift Rd., Westport, M.A.

38. Youth Pride Inc., 743 Westminster St., Providence, R.I.

39. Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, Merino Park, Providence, R.I.