Community Action program includes sites in Philadelphia, Trenton and Princeton
By: Hilary Parker
The school year hasn’t officially started, but 120 members of the incoming Princeton University Class of 2010 have already learned more about themselves and their community through the Community Action pre-orientation program.
Like Ruby Greywoode, a rising senior and co-coordinator of Community Action 2006, many former participants in the volunteer service program return in later years as group leaders and Community Action coordinators.
This year’s Community Action program placed 12 groups at sites throughout the area, including 10 in Trenton, one in Philadelphia and one in Princeton. While the students have moved their belongings into their dorm rooms, they are living together for the duration of the experience, which began Sunday and concludes today.
The Princeton group was housed in the university’s Center for Jewish Life, while the groups in Trenton and Philadelphia spent the week living in church basements, firehouses and other locations in their respective communities.
"CA students are living and working (in the community) so they become more of a part of the community," Ms. Greywoode said. Even their patronage at the grocery stores (the students fix many of their own meals throughout the program) helps the local economy and establishes connections, she said.
"Instead of sending a message that we’ll come here and do work and then go back to Princeton, it sends a signal that we are here for the longer term," she said.
With the town of Princeton’s affluent reputation, some students in the Princeton group were a bit disappointed with their assignment initially, worried they wouldn’t be able to make a difference.
"When I first heard I was assigned to the Princeton program, I thought, ‘How many people really need help in Princeton?’" said Esther Breger of Silver Spring, Md. Through work at the YWCA Princeton, Acorn Glen assisted living facility, New Jersey Community Water Watch and Community Park School, her question was quickly answered. "There’s a lot of work to be done," she said.
Mike Shih, a sophomore leader of the Princeton group, participated in the program last year. A number of his best friends at the university remain the people he bonded with during Community Action 2005, he said, as they shared both common interests and a common experience. A native of La Jolla, Calif., he said much need goes unrecognized in his hometown, just as it does in the Princeton area.
The program helps incoming students see beyond the "orange bubble" that some call Princeton, he said, raising their awareness of an entire sector of Princeton society that might otherwise remain invisible to the students.
Many will go on to work with a number of campus community service organizations, he said, including the Student Volunteers Council, Community House and Princeton Young Achievers. Additionally, Ms. Greywoode said, some students who have worked with area organizations such as Angel’s Wings, Isles and The Crisis Ministry continue their involvement with the organizations throughout the academic year.
Groups typically work in the community from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and participate in team building and social activities in the evening hours. All participants were asked to read Tracy Kidder’s book, "Mountains Beyond Mountains: Healing the World: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer." Each group held a Professor’s Night for members of the Princeton faculty and community to discuss the book with the students over dinner.
Concurrent with Community Action, 610 incoming students participated in 68 trips through the Outdoor Action program, an outdoor experience at sites in seven states. The entire freshman class encompassing 1,230 students hailing from 47 states and 42 countries will be present on campus when orientation begins Saturday. The university’s opening exercises will be held Sunday afternoon in the chapel, and classes begin Thursday.

