Community Feels Benefit of Williamson’s Service Week

Nearly 30 nonprofit organizations in the area, and beyond, experienced the benefits of Williamson’s third annual Service Week, when, from May 14-17, almost the entire school — students, faculty and staff, members of the board of trustees, and alumni — put into practice the school’s core value of service.

Students worked in small groups, supervised by adults, providing badly needed aid to a large variety of nonprofits. The work included landscaping, interacting with the elderly, working on the homes of cancer victims, building cabinets and picnic tables, and sprucing up several churches, among many other things.

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Among the organizations benefiting from Service Week were Tyler Arboretum, Habitat for Humanity, Hedgerow Theatre, Frederick Douglas Christian School, Aston’s Lions Club, Colwyn Borough, the Community Arts Center, and Friendship Circle Senior Center, to name only a few that were local.

Organizations that were further away included Camp Manatawny, a Christian summer camp in Berks County; Ronald McDonald House and the Veterans Affairs office in Philadelphia; and Galloway Township, N.J. A large group also traveled to Houston, Texas, to help the city rebuild after the destruction of Hurricane Harvey.

Also taking place during Service Week was the annual Leadership Trip, in which a group of students and several staff, along with representatives of the Coalition for Christian Outreach, went on a week-long camping and canoeing trip designed to teach leadership skills to students who have demonstrated leadership ability. And, a number of students remained on campus working on special projects.

President Michael Rounds said, “Our third annual Service Week was another outstanding success! Setting aside an entire week for our Williamson community to focus on our core value of service is such a great way to wrap up the academic year! The opportunity for students from different classes and shops to work together with the staff and faculty, alumni, board members, and friends on projects everywhere from Houston, Texas, to right around the corner at Middletown Township is a great way for them to see how big an impact they can have and why it is important to give back. We are receiving such positive feedback from the 29 organizations we supported ­— they are so impressed with our students and the important help they provided. I know our students, staff, faculty, and alumni all felt a sense of pride in representing Williamson and making a difference at so many of these great organizations. I am very proud of all of them!”

Todd Zachary, senior vice president and chief of staff, said “Service Week is an opportunity for students to embrace Williamson’s core value of service. It is evident they did this in every job site they were involved in. They made a difference in the communities they served and with many individuals in need. Our goal is to  instill a life-long appreciation of the importance and value of service that they will carry with them long after they graduate from Williamson.”

In addition to helping nonprofits, Service Week helped to strengthen the bond between students, faculty, and staff by having them work side by side, and students formed friendships with fellow students they don’t normally interact with. Students also had the opportunity to do work that is outside of their trade.

Service Week Comments Include:

Brandywine Hydro Mill-Pennsbury

Rob Magee 1W8
“I think it’s great to go out into the community to give back to young people. We gained knowledge at Williamson and now we are getting the opportunity to share our knowledge with young people. It’s beneficial to them and to us to give back knowing we are doing something great for the community. It’s also great to be with other Williamson students from the other classes and get to know them.”

John Rex 7W5, Technology Instructor
“It’s great to see our students interacting with younger students coming in to experience this project. The students are demonstrating ways that electricity is made and giving the participants hands-on experience at different exhibits. Hopefully, our work will inspire some of these young people to become future Williamson students.”

Camp Manatawny

Ed Gawlas, Mathematics Instructor
“I like how one nonprofit helped another nonprofit to impact lives.”

Dave Garrett, Executive Director
“Again this year we were privileged to have four students and one faculty member volunteer at our camp, Delaware Valley Christian Camp (Camp Manatawny) during Service Week. Despite several days of rain, they worked hard and were able to accomplish a lot of projects to help us get ready for the start of our summer camping sessions. Thank you for allowing these young men to serve at Camp Manatawny. We have been blessed to be part of the Williamson’s Service Week the past three years and look forward to having some of your students with us again next year.”

Christ United Methodist Church

Helene Montone, Director of Health Services
“The guys are great. It’s just nice to give back to the community. The people we are helping here are very appreciative and that is a good feeling.”

Anthony Ardito 2W0
“I know someone who goes to this church and they are very thankful we are here. That is a good feeling to know we are appreciated. It feels nice.”

Clifton Heights-PAL

Ryan Kelly 1W8
“I can speak for everyone. We all had a blast.”

Dennis Johnson, Business Instructor
“I am proud of the Williamson men giving back to their community.”

Colwyn Borough

Annette Roy, Councilwoman
“I think it’s great that these Williamson students go out and help others. This community needs a lot of help and we appreciate the help they provided.”

Barbara Williams, Council President
“Words cannot express how much we appreciate these students coming out to help us. I’m so grateful. We thank God for this help.”

Tina Mason, Borough Manager
“The work being accomplished by these young men will enhance our borough and our community. People in our community have waited a long time to be able to rent the room they improved. It is finally available.”

Community Arts Center

Austin Dodson, Caretaker
“It’s great having Williamson students helping us. They started right in, worked hard, and accomplished a lot.”

Crozier Regional Cancer Center

Corey Jackson 0W3, VP of Plans and Operations
“We’re getting great feedback from the people we are helping. Everyone is really appreciative that we helping them out at a time of need.”

John Capuzzi 0W2, Assistant Carpentry Instructor
“The people we’ve gone to haven’t been able to keep up their homes because they are busy taking care of loved ones with cancer. It’s a nice thing to help them. They appreciate us helping them.”

Da’Shawn Wooden 2W0
“It feels good helping out. The people we are helping make you feel welcome. It’s great working with different people from the different shops.”

Delaware Valley Christian Church

Jay Merillat, VP of Enrollment Management
“In my job, I don’t get to work closely with students. It’s really nice to be spending a week working side by side with them. We are doing work they would have to pay for so it is nice helping out the church. We are making a nice environment here for the guests. I look forward to this week each year. It’s really nice to see how happy the staff is with the service we provide. It’s a blessing for the church and Williamson.”

Domestic Violence Center

Tom Wisneski, VP of Research and Assessment
“When I think of Service Week, the word that comes to mind is ‘stretching.’  Faculty and staff members are stretched to manage work crews of 5-6 students in work for which we have no real expertise.  It can be mentally and physically exhausting. Students are stretched to perform work that, usually, is unfamiliar to them. And it’s all for a very good cause – providing truly substantial help to nonprofits that truly need this sort of assistance – not just for a morning, or an afternoon, or a day, but four days of work! Wow!”

Frederick Douglas Christian School

Vernon McCommons, Facility Manager
“Service Week is awesome. I would have to do all of this work myself if not for these guys. With Williamson helping, we get so much done. I really appreciate it. Big help. They work hard and you don’t have to stand over them.”

Joe Koke 1W9
“I give enjoy giving back to the community. It feels good to do it. We go to a free school and this is a free school so they are like us.”

Kyree Freeman 1W9
“It’s a giving tree. We get helped from other people at Williamson so it’s nice helping people at this school.”

Friendship Circle Senior Center

Christine Helmondollar, director
“Without the lending hands of the Williamson students, we would not have been able to beautify our center for adults.”

Galloway Township, N.J.

Robert McNabb 7W3
“It gives you a good feeling helping the community and I know the people we helped greatly appreciated it. I especially enjoyed working with the students and getting to know them.”

Gateway Church

Sherre Gaertner, Artisans Director
“What a wonderful week we had at Gateway as we experienced for the first time the Williamson men working out their Service Week project. I’ve never seen such a work ethic and such polite young men ready to do whatever was asked of them. They worked everyday with only a short break for lunch. It was incredible. We at Gateway Community Church are extremely grateful and blessed by Williamson College of the Trades and these nine students. We were also very pleased to have Anne Frantum and David Nagel working alongside the students. What a wonderful group!”

Nickolas Rodriguze 1W9
“Service Week is a blast. I enjoy helping those who are in need of help and it’s a good experience working with guys in the other shops because you get to know your peers better.”

Terry Green 1W9
“It’s nice to practice one of our core values – service. We are learning how to appreciate the little things in life. When you go to some of the places you learn to appreciate the things you have.”

Habitat for Humanity

Sylvia Miranda, Home Owner
“I’m very thankful that Williamson students are here helping me improve my home. They are great young men and are working very hard.”

Paul Rihn, AmeriCorps, Construction Crew Leader
“I thoroughly enjoy having the Williamson guys here helping out Habitat for Humanity in this critical home. The students are quick to learn, work hard, and a delight to work with.”

Hedgerow Theater

Sam Wrightson, VP of Education
“It’s really good working with the students in a hands-on work environment outside of an office.”

Essie Windham, Production Designer and Artist in Residence
“This is my first experience with Williamson and I’m thoroughly impressed with the students. They have a great work ethic, positive attitude, and work very fast.”

Houston, Texas

Jemeal Leal 2W0, Freshman Class President
“It was a great experience being able to help the people of Houston. It was also a huge learning experience, being able to get insight from the alumni that went. There were many benefits that came out of the trip. Couldn’t be blessed enough to have had the experience.”

Bill Bonenberger 7W9, Board Chairman
“I always come away from Williamson’s service trips with our students and alumni with my enthusiasm for our mission and the difference we’re making in our young men’s lives, not to mention those families we helped in Houston,  fully renewed! For several students on the trip it was their very first time on a plane. Five of our alumni took a week of their vacation to work with the students, paid their own way, slept on cots, and worked in 95 degree heat for a week.

“I happened to be lucky enough to be on the roofing crew that tore off and replaced two entire roofs the week we were there. We had students from every one of our shops working together, taking tips from our carpenters, and not wanting to leave the sites until the jobs were completed. They should all be proud of themselves for the work they accomplished and I think they now have a better understanding of  one of our most important core values — SERVICE — because they got the opportunity to see firsthand how their service positively impacted the lives of the families whose homes we worked on and how grateful they were for our assistance.”

Lions Club

Joan Berry, Executive Assistant to the President
“Service is one of our core values. It feels good helping others. I’m glad to be a part of it.”

Sean Steppke 2W0
“I feel like its an awesome experience to go out into the public and help out.”

Bob Shufelt, Financial Secretary
“The Lions Club is extremely happy to have Williamson help. This is the third year they have helped us during Service Week. The Lions Club motto is to serve and it is one of Williamson’s core values.”

Stacy Starr 6W8
“This is a great opportunity to work with the community and the students in a relaxed atmosphere and accomplishing some much needed work.”

Newlin Grist Mill

Phil Bachetti 9W9, Assistant Masonry Instructor
“It was a very interesting work project. The men showed up on time and ready to work each day. We extended a boardwalk along a frog pond, demolished a dilapidated pavilion, demolished an unused pool house, installed new posts and rail fencing around the property, repaired picnic tables to make them functional again, and a few guys even stayed afterwards to fish. Although the mill is roughly 300 years old, it is still functional, which we got to see in action.”

Oak Lawn

Tony Ieradi, Historical Society, Board Member
“It’s a tremendous effort to keep the building secure and to get it restored enough to protect it from the elements. We would have to hire workers or ask for volunteers if Williamson students didn’t help us.”

Isaiah Cohen 1W9
“It’s exciting to be working at an historic home and has made me want to help more. I did some hort work, but also got to paint which was nice. We made people happy by helping and this felt good. I like helping people out.”

PA Department of Military-Veterans Affairs

Matt Ruskowski 1W8
“It was great to serve people who served our country at the veterans home.”

Rise Against Hunger

Bradley Richardson, Campaign Coordinator
“I always enjoy working in the community making a difference in unexpected ways. We worked behind the scenes, but provided a significant aid to Rise Against Hunger. Our efforts helped them send out one hundred thousand meals around the world by freeing up the time for their employees to accomplish more.”

Ryan Ehnts, Assistant Communications Manager
It’s great having Williamson students here helping us. They used their skills to help us out. Just one week of assistance made a large difference.”

Ronald McDonald House

Michael Treston. Director of Major and Planned Gifts
“The Service Week at Ronald McDonald House was a great culmination of my first year at Williamson. I have seen firsthand how talented our students are in their respective shops, but this opportunity allowed me to see them interact with those less fortunate than them and to give their time to an organization that helps many sick children and their families. Our students made me proud because they were selfless and worked hard all week. The Ronald McDonald House was extremely appreciative of our efforts and they look forward to working with us again in the future.”

Sterling Healthcare

Nancy Newman, ADC, Activities Director
“These students are wonderful. They are thoughtful, full of energy, and know how to interact with our residents. I love seeing them working here. I wish they could come more often.”

Tyler Arboretum

Jerry O’Bell, Part-Time Rhododendron Garden Worker
“It’s great having them here helping us with our 13-acre rhododendron garden. We love them. They help us get a lot done. They’ve been fabulous and are doing a good job.”

Upper Chichester Township

Raymond Drulik, 1W8 Senior Class President
“I really enjoy Service Week. Mainly because I get to give back to the community that has already given me so much. I was born and raised in Chichester. So anytime I get an opportunity to give back I do so.”

YMCA – Rocky Run

Katie Duffur, Executive Director
“I think it’s great to have the college so close and give back to the community. Their help is really helpful to us. This summer we are having between 250-300 kids in the field and woods and this help is getting us prepared for them.”

Matty Earlly, Facility Director
“Right from the start it was nice working with Mike Nevile and the students. The work they did is incredible and helped us out a lot.”