Alumni, Family and Friends
Event details: Monday, April 15, 2024 | 9 am-3 pm | Marguerite's Place (87 Palm Street, Nashua, NH)
Learn more: Marguerite's Place provides a combination of group and individual programming that supports both parents and children to heal from trauma, develop success skills, and achieve independence. Their facilities include safe, private apartments where mothers and children experiencing homelessness can stabilize and rebuild. SNHU volunteers participated in some post-winter beautification of the grounds.
Project leader Jill wrote a lovely and thorough wrap up:
On Monday, April 15, seven SNHU employees representing Academic Advising and Student Financial Services met at Marguerite’s Place in Nashua, NH armed with flowers, rakes, mulch, and a desire to do some good.
Marguerite’s Place (MP) has a mission to “transform the lives of families working to achieve safety, stability and independence by fostering connection and providing holistic, individual and group support offerings, including transitional housing for women and their children, as well as early childhood education, and group-based community programs for all.” In partnership with MP’s Community Programs Coordinator Katelyn Karugu, Global Days of Service Project Leader Jill Ketchen designed a workday focused on celebrating spring and cleaning up debris from winter.
The timing was perfect, as we were blessed with a warm and sunny day just over a week after a late season storm blew in leaves and took down branches across much of southern New Hampshire. The team was offered a tour of the housing, programming, and childcare facilities and learning about Marguerite’s Place programs and goals. Karugu emphasized how important a clean environment is to support a sense of stability and safety in their community, and the SNHU crew took that to heart and got to work.
In one day, we were able to remove emerging weeds from the foundations of all buildings, clean windows, and doors, pickup streetside and curb areas, organize and clean the outdoor play area, and update and care for established planter beds in front of the main building. We planted seasonal spring annuals, perennial spring bulbs, and then pruned, fertilized, mulched, and watered existing plants. We also donated a few planters full of bright purple and yellow pansies to decorate the porches of the facilities.
Thank you to Marguerite’s Place for hosting us, SNHU for offering the benefit of VTO and supporting good work in our communities, and Oakcraft Pizza of Nashua, who provided a complimentary lunch to fuel our work crew!
A huge shoutout to SNHU staff members Karissa Ellard, Jenny Lussier, Justine Hermann, Sarah Parker, Skyler Neveau, and Bridgett Thornton-Smith for showing up ready to work and enjoy the day together! We crushed it.
Meet your project leader: SNHU employee Jill Ketchen is the volunteer project leader for this event. If you have general questions about SNHU Global Days of Service, please contact Alumni Engagement. And, check out more ways to get engaged with the SNHU community!
Share your story: Remember to use #ServeWithSNHU to join the movement and share your experience on social media from the event, and you can always give us more details on the Share My Story page.
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