Oh yeah!
Campus Volunteer Day 2008 was fun! We got quite a few responses, and We are elated at the fact that they were all excellent reviews!

Read the reports and view photos from Campus Volunteer Day 2008!

Beached Whales
Down at Chaguaramas, we had a big clean crew on a dirty beach. By the end of the day, I understand that there was a big dirty crew on a clean beach. But don’t worry! The bus driver didn’t have to stomach the smell for long. They went to the beach and washed clean(er). The CDA provided some minor assistance, and our volunteers did the rest.
Congratulations to Richard, Project Officer (Social and Sporting Activities) on a well coordinated CVD Project!

Schooled at School
Someone told me that when they went to speak with the students at Mayaro Composite, she learnt some things from the students. Well... you learn something every day! But all in all, we got some lovely reports from our people at Mayaro Composite. One person even said that she wished she could go back every day. Well to you my dear lady, the teaching service welcomes you upon your graduation! ;)
Congratulations to Daryl Steele, former Project Officer (Religious and Community Based Activities) on a well coordinated CVD Project!

Will you be my Buddy, Buddy?
At the YMCA, I saw the maternal and paternal instincts of UWI students come out. At one point during my visit to the project site, I wondered if we would have to rip babies out of some people’s hands. Alas, when they heard that there was food on the compound, babies down, food in hand.

Some others got to be Big Brothers and Big Sisters, with one anonymous person even sharing out red cards, blue cards (somehow no green cards) and making some questionable decisions in a cricket match.

At the end, volunteers had a short discussion with Delisa M Lewis, Financial Development & Communication Officer at the YMCA and some expressed their interest in returning to YMCA. (YES!)

Congratulations to Keisha Deokiesingh, team leader at YMCA on a well coordinated CVD Project!

Volunteers at the YMCA Project with Delisa Lewis from the YMCA.

Loco in Toco
We had a few people who went to Toco, and one comment is that they went crazy having so much fun. This project was staffed by volunteers from Campus Crusade for Christ. This special synergy was welcomed by us, because it showed that our student organisations can show their own “corporate interest” in service work.

Tobago Yuh Large!
So we couldn’t find a Tobago project on the actual volunteer day, but the Buccoo Reef Trust asked for volunteers the day before to help set up for the arrival of Prince Charles. UWISTAT was front and center, and seven volunteers went over. They sweated alongside volunteers from Coral Cay Conservation and showed their decoration skills. UWISTAT men learnt how to cut cloth, and the women showed their prowess in hanging decorations. At the time of departure, the location looked pretty, and we are certain the Prince was well pleased with what he saw.
We were proud to hear that of the team of volunteers with Coral Cay, some were participants in CVD 2007, and had decided to take a one year volunteer internship since that first experience!

So now we’re done. Volunteer Day 2008 will go down as another fun memory.
We say “Well Done” to Prunella our President on her good work in being Project Developer for Campus Volunteer Day 2008.

To our volunteers, and those who wished to be there, but couldn’t we say a great Thank You! You have made CVD 2008 a great success, by being there, telling your friends, and taking those lovely pictures that you did. We’ll be putting up a gallery soon so you can see the pictures we collected.

Look out for our future projects. We promise to keep them exciting and full of energy and information. In the meanwhile, watch as our website will take another transformation for the upcoming project. I wonder what that will be?