Seven Hamilton students are winding up their semester volunteering at Tradewinds Education Center of Upstate Cerebral Palsy, which serves students with behavioral and developmental disabilities.

Members of Hamilton’s women’s basketball team took time on April 20 to participate in Oneida County’s 5th annual Intergenerational Clean-up. The women volunteered at Helen Ferro’s home in Utica and Robert Ferguson’s home in Clinton. At both sites the basketball players raked leaves and cleaned the property.

Members of the Philanthropy Committee (HamGive) took part in the Intergenerational Spring Clean Up sponsored by Oneida County on April 20. 
Committee members who took part included Brian Sobotko ’16, Kevin Welsh ’15, Ryan Ong ’16, Suzanne Jacobson ’15, Zoe Lynch ’15, and Jose Vazquez ’15. They cleaned the yard of a homeowner in Clinton.

Five members of Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology, volunteered at the Walk for Autism fundraiser in Oneida on April 20. April is Autism Awareness Month and the walk was held to benefit The Kelberman Center in Utica, a regional center for excellence for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  The center was founded by Michael Kelberman ’80. Heather Wixson, associate director of the Career Center, was co-chair of the walk this year.

Members of the Hamilton’s men’s basketball team and coach Adam Stockwell dished out an assist as they volunteered with the 5th annual Intergenerational Clean-up on April 21. Armed with rakes and garbage bags the team cleaned up the yard of some New York Mills senior citizens.

Hamilton’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) group in Virginia helped build a Habitat for Humanity house during the first week of spring break, March 16-23. The Hamilton students worked with Hanover Habitat for Humanity in Mechanicsville, where they helped build a house for a family in need.

While many of their counterparts hit beaches and ski slopes 102 Hamilton students are spending a week of their spring break volunteering at one of 10 nonprofit organizations for Alternative Spring Break (ASB), March 16-31.

Look at campus e-mail on any given day during Hamilton’s academic year and chances are there’s a service opportunity seeking volunteers. The people behind these numerous events are the Community Outreach and Opportunities Program (COOP) Senior Fellows – Danielle Lashley, Ramya Ramnath and Amy Soenksen. They coordinate volunteer requests with local non-profits, plan events and organize volunteers.

Hamilton’s Athletics Department has been working on fostering a relationship with local Special Olympic athletes in conjunction with the NCAA Division III partnership with Special Olympics on a national level.

In what has become an annual tradition, Hamilton Association for Volunteering Outreach and Charity (HAVOC) and Community Opportunity and Outreach Project (COOP) collected food, gifts and other items to make the holidays a bit happier for some local families in need.