First Assignment for New SPU Students: Go Volunteer on September 26

More than 700 Seattle Pacific University students, faculty, and staff, will take part in a day of community service on Saturday, September 26, 2015, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. They will volunteer at more than 25 locations around Seattle, cleaning up parks, removing invasive plants in local creeks, painting rooms in homeless shelters, and working on countless other projects. This annual event called “CityQuest” introduces new students to SPU’s commitment to community engagement. Autumn Quarter starts Monday, September 28.

Here are a few CityQuest locations.

Cheasty Greenspace at Mt. View on Beacon Hill, 2809 S. Alaska Place
The largest project involving 80 students will be at Cheasty Greenspace at Mt. View, a 10-acre urban forest between the Lockmore neighborhood of Beacon Hill and Columbia City. The effort to clean up the forest is headed by SPU alumna Mary DeJong. The area was overgrown and had a lot criminal activity. During the past several years, SPU students have worked with neighbors and a number of nonprofits to develop the natural area with trails and native plants.

Operation Nightwatch in the Central District at the corner of 14th Ave S. & S. Main St.
Operation Nightwatch is an interdenominational Christian ministry serving the poor and homeless. The executive director, Rev. Rick Reynolds, is an SPU alumnus. Students will clean the inside and outside of the main building. 

Friends of the Burke-Gilman Trail at Sandpoint at SW corner of 33rd Ave NE and NE Blakeley St in the Ravena/Bryant neighborhood.
SPU students have worked on this stretch of the trail for several years. The project will involve clearing invasive plants and mulching the area.

Learn more about CityQuest.

Posted: Friday, September 25, 2015