Hundreds of students, faculty members and administrators will gather on the Gold Coast lawn tomorrow to begin a day of community service for DarCorps '99.
Volunteers for DarCorps, a college-organized community outreach project, will register at noon, and then disperse to more than 65 community service locations in the Upper Valley area.
Projects for DarCorps range from painting and raking to working with elderly patients and doing trail work.
"We want the volunteers to enjoy the work that they do and understand what a contribution they are making to the community at large," Co-Chair Amanda Young '01 said.
Some of the local agencies involved are Planned Parenthood, the Montshire Museum, Outreach House, Ray Elementary School and the Dartmouth Outing Club.
"I look forward to the volunteers coming out and enjoying their three hours. I hope they will be charged by it and be able to continue that service after tomorrow," Volunteer Coordinator Uriel Barrera-Vasquez '98 said.
Co-chairs Young and Zoe McLaren '00 began the planning process during Winter term, and were joined by about 20 others to make all the preparations in the Spring.
The biggest worry for the organizers is the weather, although DarCorps will proceed rain or shine.
"I hope that this will be the first DarCorps without horrible rain, and we won't have to do weird indoor activities that weren't planned," Amy Salomon '01, chairperson of logistics, said.
The day will begin with registration and project assignments. The volunteers will work from 1 to 4 p.m. and conclude with a barbecue at Hanover High School.
Volunteers will be able to choose the type of service they are assigned, but not the specific project.
According to Barrera-Vasquez, the purpose of the day is twofold. "Number one is to get more Dartmouth students integrated into the Upper Valley, and two is to get students more interested in community service as a whole," he said.
DarCorps began in 1997, the brainchild of Rex Morey '99. According to Barrera-Vasquez, Morey approached the Tucker Foundation with an idea for a big day of service. With the help of a small group of seniors, the idea soon became a reality.
DarCorps is now a biannual event, with ShmenCorps during freshmen orientation and DarCorps in the spring. Spring DarCorps is open to the entire school.
