Elizabethtown College Serves Local Community During Annual Into the Streets Day of Service

The Blue Jays baseball team volunteered at Unto Global Logistics Center during Into the Streets 125

More than 320 Elizabethtown College students, employees, alumni, and friends served the local community during the Into the Streets 125 community engagement event on Saturday, Oct. 19. A special edition of the College’s longstanding tradition, this year’s 31^st annual event was in celebration of Etown’s 125^th Anniversary.

With a theme of “Jumping into the Streets,” this year’s Into the Streets featured the largest group of participants in the event’s history, who volunteered at more than 15 nonprofit organizations across the region. The event was hosted by Etown’s Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE).

“At the CCCE our goal is to help Etown live out our motto of Educate for Service,” Javita Thompson, Elizabethtown College Director of the CCCE said. “Into the Streets is our biggest service event of the year, and we believe it gives our students an opportunity to put that motto into practice. It’s so inspiring to see Blue Jays going out and giving back to their community and putting into practice the skills that they learn in the classroom while helping these non-profits.”

A group of Blue Jays giving back at Winters Heritage House as part of Into the Streets 125

The day was divided into two shifts between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with on- and off-campus projects available for Blue Jay volunteers. Participants could sign up for one shift or for all-day shifts in the community.

In the morning, volunteers were divided between 17 community partners  Bright Side Opportunities Center, Friend of the Louis Arnold Tanger Arboretum, Central PA Food Bank, Winter’s Heritage House Museum, Donegal Substance Abuse Alliance, Unto, Elizabethtown Historical Society, The Joshua Group, Elizabethtown Child Care Center, On-Campus Drug Take Back, and Habitat for Humanity ReStore. In the afternoon, students traveled to Bethesda Mission, Mt. Hope Nazarene Retirement Community, Mental Health America Lancaster, YWCA Lancaster: Lancaster Votes, and Etown Area Communities That Care.

Volunteers, including student clubs and organizations, also traveled to the 11^th annual Greater Elizabethtown Area Recreation and Community Services (GEARS) Fall Fest at the Elizabethtown Fairgrounds to interact with community members, as well as local children and parents.

“Into the Streets makes me feel entirely accepted into a community that was based on service and love,” Etown Counseling Psychology major Madie Cannon ’26 said. “It makes me realize how much I love Etown’s motto of Educate for Service.”