April 16, 2015

SVSU to join effort to beautify Saginaw’s Houghton-Jones neighborhood

Saginaw Valley State University will be well represented at the All Around The Garden Global Youth Service Day Project Wednesday, April 22.

One of the event’s coordinators is Keshara Mumford, an SVSU social work major from Detroit who is involved in the United Way of Saginaw County's Healthy Kids Healthy Futures Partnership Americorps program. Mamie Thorns, special assistant to the president for diversity programs, will speak at the kickoff for the event.

Social and service fraternities and sororities from SVSU will participate in gardening activities, including Delta Sigma Theta, Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Phi Omega, Phi Beta Sigma, Kappa Tau Epsilon, Sigma Pi and Phi Sigma Sigma.

The service project is planned from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Saginaw's Houghton-Jones Neighborhood Association headquarters at 1708 Johnson in Saginaw. Additional volunteers are welcome to assist in the effort by gathering at the headquarters.

The event is sponsored in part by Houghton-Jones Neighborhood Association and the United Way of Saginaw County.

Registration begins at 9 a.m. The kickoff ceremony is planned for 10 a.m. Participants should park in the Houghton Elementary School parking lot at 1604 Johnson, directly across the street from the headquarters.

Those interested in participating can call (989) 776-0555, (989) 752-1660, or email jhales@unitedwaysaginaw.org or info@houghtonjones.org.

In 2015, SVSU received the Community Engagement classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, a distinction achieved by only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities. For more on SVSU’s community engagement, visit svsu.edu/communityengagement/.