MEDIA ADVISORY
Aug. 18, 2005

CONTACT: Dolph Pulliam, (515) 201-7166, dolph.pulliam@drake.edu
Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu

FIRST LESSON AT DRAKE FOCUSES ON COMMUNITY SERVICE

Before they set foot in a Drake University classroom for the first time on Monday, Aug. 22, hundreds of first-year students will learn a lesson on the importance of community service.

On Saturday, Aug. 20, most members of the 800-plus freshman class will volunteer to help with various community service projects across Des Moines. The projects, which will take place from 10 a.m. to noon, include sprucing up Drake Park and the Drake Neighborhood, playing Bingo with residents of Ramsey Village, painting equipment and walking dogs at the Animal Rescue League and making informational cards for patients at Broadlawns Medical Center.

Before heading out on their service projects, the students will gather at 9:15 a.m. at the Drake Knapp Center, 2601 Forest Ave., for an inspirational talk by Wanda Everage, vice provost for student affairs and academic excellence at Drake.

Last year approximately 640 students or 90 percent of the freshman class participated in community service activities that were added to Drake's Welcome Week for the first time. This year, Drake officials expect nearly 98 percent of all first-year students to participate.

"This is the second time we've tried this and last year’s response from the students was overwhelmingly positive," said Dolph Pulliam, director of community outreach and development at Drake. "It's a great way of acquainting new students with Des Moines as well as giving them an opportunity to contribute to the community during their first days at Drake."

Students will be participating in the following community service projects Saturday morning:

ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE
5425 N.E. 22nd Street
Contact: Ashley Dempsey, Volunteer Coordinator, (515) 262-9503 ext. 110
Students will clean and paint equipment, walk dogs, play with cats and learn how homeless, lost, abandoned and injured animals are prepared for adoption.

BERNIE LORENZ RECOVERY HOUSE
4014 Kingman Blvd.
Contact: Mary O’Riley, Director, (515) 255-3373
Student volunteers will tour the facility and meet with clients of this program, which provides a home-like, supportive environment, combined with the best in therapeutic recovery services, to chemically dependent women who desire a way of life free from their dependency.

BRICKYARD PROJECT
24th Street just south of Cottage Grove Avenue
Contact: Marty Schmitt, (515) 491-1011
Students will help sort whole bricks from broken ones so the whole bricks can remain in the Drake Neighborhood for use in gardens, walkways and driveways. The old paving bricks were uncovered during construction work on Cottage Grove and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.

BROADLAWNS MEDICAL CENTER
1801 Hickman Road
Contact: Mary Novello, Director of Volunteer Services, (515) 282-5602
Students will learn about the center and make informational cards for patients' meal trays to help remind patients of the variety of services available at Broadlawns.

DRAKE UNIVERSITY ADULT LITERACY CENTER
Olmsted Center, 29th Street and University Avenue
Contact: Anne Murr, (515) 271-3982
Students will meet in conference rooms on the upper level of Olmsted Center to hear several Literacy Center adult students share their life and learning experiences. The first-year students will discover the value of tutoring and find out why one in five children and adults struggle with reading and spelling. They will also learn about new discoveries in neuroscience that shed light on the causes of reading problems such as dyslexia, and they’ll also participate in an activity in which they will "become" dyslexic.

DRAKE NEIGHBORHOOD LITTER PICKUP
Begins at Drake Knapp Center, 2601 Forest Ave.
Contact: Rob Ferguson, Chairman, Beautification Committee, Drake Neighborhood Association, (515) 771-0386
Students will pick up litter along the streets and alleys in a 94-square-block area bordered by Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway on the east, 34th Street on the west, Kingman Boulevard on the south and Clark Street on the north. Students will leave full trash bags on curbs of main streets where Drake facilities crews will pick up the trash bags and dispose of them.

DRAKE PARK
24th Street and Drake Park Avenue
Contact: Rob Ferguson, Neighborhood Association Former Beautification Chairman, (515) 771-0386
Students will work with Drake Neighborhood Association volunteers to spruce up Drake Park. They will clean up around the shelter house, dig up weeds around the playground, plant a flowerbed, pick up trash and do some raking.

P.A.C.E. JUVENILE INTERVENTION PROGRAM
Olmsted Center, 29th Street and University Avenue
Contact: John Spinks, P.A.C.E. Director/Counselor, (515) 202-1722
Students will meet P.A.C.E. students in conference rooms on the upper level of Olmsted Center to learn about the P.A.C.E. program and how it works with troubled youths. The youths will talk about their backgrounds and the troubles they have encountered.

RAMSEY VILLAGE RETIREMENT CENTER
1611 27th St.
Contact: Jeff Porter, (515) 274-3612
Students will wash the exterior ground-floor windows, clean the grounds, play Bingo with residents and, if the weather permits, take residents outside to enjoy fresh air.

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