Monday afternoon, RI Campus Compact hosted over 40 college students and VISTA volunteers (from Bryant University, Community College of RI, Johnson and Wales, Providence College, RISD, Rhode Island College, and Roger Williams University) to decorate pumpkins in Providence’s Market Square. 80 elementary school students from the Mt. Hope Learning Center and several students from Mt. Hope High School came down the hill to decorate pumpkins with the college students. College students and AmeriCorp members volunteered their time and worked together to create beautiful pumpkins which the school children took home. The children also had faces painted and received temporary tattoos by RISD students. RISD REACH, the RI School of Design’s student volunteer group, and RI Campus Compact coordinated the day’s events. The college students decorated additional pumpkins later donated to the George J. West Elementary School in Providence. All participants had smiling faces and completed the afternoon with warm apple cider and hot chocolate.

Special thanks go to Emily Ustach (RISD VISTA) who planned and coordinated the event along with Michael Loffelman (RISD, Student Affairs). Additional thanks go to the RISD REACH members for their hard work setting up and cleaning up the event and to the VISTA volunteers who came from all over the State to participate in the activities. RI Campus Compact plans to hold this event annually.