Students 'rake' up some kindness!

Students from Edinboro University will spend part of their weekend giving back to a community that gives them so much.

The eighth annual R.A.K.E. event (Random Acts of Kindness around Edinboro) will take place Nov. 7 at locations around the community. Students will be bundled up and carrying rakes as they travel from yard to yard.

The event is sponsored by the Edinboro Community Outreach Center, located on the second floor of Pogue Student Center.

According to Patrick Kinzig, a member of the service-oriented Americorps VISTA who works at the center, R.A.K.E. was founded on a collaboration between Denise Gaines, current director of the center, and Joseph Laythe, a history professor.

"It's grown in participation (since then)," said Kinzig. The standard participation, according to past numbers, has been around "20 to 30" groups.

"So far, we have 150 confirmed," he added.

But just because you didn't sign up doesn't mean you can't be of use. Volunteers that simply show up at the campus bell tower the day of the event are most welcome. The event begins at 10 a.m., will last to 3 p.m., and is split into two shifts

The first shift goes from 10 a.m. and stretches to noon. The second shift is 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.

"[The shifts are] because some people can't do the whole day," explained Kinzig. Rakes are provided by the center, so students don't have to worry about scavenging for them.

The residents that benefit the most from R.A.K.E. are the elderly and the disabled, who get first priority on Saturday, since they are often unable to rake their own lawns.

A lot is dependent on factors out of the control of students, such as the weather, that can be notoriously unsupportive this time of year.

According to the Weather Channel, the forecast for Saturday is supposed to be partly cloudy with a high in the upper 40's.

This is just the first in a series of events the Outreach Center has planned.

The next one will be the "Empty Bowls Dinner" and then "Edinboro Cares," which will start right before Thanksgiving.

The purpose of that is to a sponsor a needy child during the holidays.

To get in contact with the center, call 732-1720 or stop by its office on the 2nd floor of the Pogue Student Center.

Also, to participate in R.A.K.E., meet at the clock tower at about 10 a.m. on Nov. 7.

"It's just a way to give back to the community," Kinzig said. "We're expecting a good turn out."

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

I actually met one of my closest friends doing that.