Photos: Eastern students pitch in for Windham's spring clean-up

Town Pride, Town Wide beautifies community

by Lucinda Weiss

Willimantic, CT (04/26/2023) — Eastern Connecticut State University students volunteered nearly 320 hours of service to 10 Willimantic sites during the Town Pride, Town Wide community clean-up on April 22.

The 71 students organized by Eastern's Center for Community Engagement raked, planted, weeded and painted at Lauter Park, CLICK, the Railroad Museum, Willimantic Whitewater Park, the Schilberg Butterfly Garden, the Windham Textile and History Museum, Pequot Trails, Windham Middle School, High Street and the Greenway Garden Project.

"My favorite part about Town Pride, Town Wide is seeing the effect it has on our community, whether it be through our maintaining of beautiful communal areas or in the friendship it builds among our volunteers," said Olivia Gardner '25, a CCE student leader. "It's great to see the immediate impact the event has on everyone involved."

Amilya Williams '25, another CCE student leader, said she loves the turnout for the event. "It feels like I am a part of something bigger. It's cool to think while I'm at my site helping the community, the same thing is happening at various other sites throughout Willi."

Each student volunteered for more than four hours at the event, an annual collaboration between the CCE and the Town of Windham.

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Eastern Connecticut State University is the state of Connecticut's public liberal arts university, serving upwards of 4,100 students annually on its Willimantic campus. In addition to attracting students from 160 of Connecticut's 169 towns, Eastern also draws students from 32 states and eight countries. A residential campus offering 41 majors and 68 minors, Eastern offers students a strong liberal arts foundation grounded in a variety of applied learning opportunities. Ranked among the top 20 public institutions in the North by U.S. News & World Report in its 2022-23 Best Colleges ratings, Eastern has also been awarded 'Green Campus' status by the Princeton Review 13 years in a row. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu.