Follow #WUDCDayofService on social media campaign to see highlights from the event.
Register by April 30 to receive a volunteer T-shirt to wear during the service weekend.
A group of Washington D.C.-area alumni hopes to start a new community service initiative
in their local area.
Christina Alexander '05 and Dominque Grisby '10, co-leaders of the D.C. Metro Alumni Chapter, are challenging alumni in D.C., Maryland and Virginia (DMV) to participate in a weekend of community service, May 21-23.
From delivering nutritious meals to donating pet supplies to stocking community fridges, organizers say alumni can support any cause, local group or non-profit that they please.
“The pandemic has presented a lot of opportunities for people to make a difference in this area. People are still very much in need because of lack of access, being out of work or facing other challenges due to the pandemic. We really want alumni to support a cause that would be meaningful for them in their local community,” Alexander said.
Volunteers have the freedom to choose which day during the May 21-23 weekend to complete their act of service.
"There are so many different service arenas, so basically it's whatever people have a personal vested interest in," Grisby said.
A #WUDCDayofService social media campaign will capture highlights from the event. Those that register by April 30 are guaranteed a T-shirt they can wear to show their Winthrop pride while participating in the service weekend.
"It's a great opportunity for them to involve their families, friends and to bring more people from the Winthrop community out. It gives us an opportunity to be visible in so many places across the DMV," Alexander said.
There are nearly 900 Winthrop alumni in the D.C. Metro area. Grisby has been actively coordinating area alumni-related events over the last several years. She is hopeful events like this will draw more engagement.
"We would love to bring out people we have not seen before," Grisby added.
Both organizers envision building relationships with community groups across the DMV area. Additionally, they want the community service weekend to grow into a standing event unique to the D.C. Metro Alumni Chapter. Alexander's goal is to support local agencies that are already tapping into the community, and Grisby wants to develop partnerships with area non-profits and organizations.
“It’s always been important to me to create some type of advancement for the communities that I represent, to make a meaningful difference for people that look like me or for the people who are oftentimes disenfranchised,” said Alexander, who shares with Grisby a long history of community service. As a child, Grisby's parents, both ordained ministers, instilled in her the spirit of giving back while Alexander shadowed her mother's involvement in their community.
Interested alumni can sign-up through April 30 and will receive a volunteer T-shirt.
For additional information, contact the Alumni Association at 803/323-2145 or e-mail: alumni@winthrop.edu
