Giving Back to NYC with Circle K

As a Fordham student, I have been granted many great opportunities. I have gone to Broadway shows, eaten on Arthur Avenue, toured museums, and gone ice skating in Rockefeller Center...just to name a few of the things I have done in my short time I have been at Fordham. While these moments have been a ton of fun, and I am so happy to have been able to do these activities, Fordham has also really encouraged me to follow the Jesuit ideal of "men and women for others."

Last year, I joined Fordham's Circle K, which is a Kiwanis-affiliated organization. Every week, Fordham's Circle K gives back to the New York community through various community service projects. While there are too many projects for one person to participate in every one, I have participated in a few.

Last year, I was one of the many volunteers to visit retired Jesuits at Murray Weigel Hall. The retired Jesuits always seem to enjoy being visited. Many of them actually worked at Fordham at some point, so they have many stories to tell, and they love to hear what is going on at Fordham now.

This year, I have been involved in a gardening project at the Rose Hill Apartments, which is an apartment building for the elderly right off of Fordham's campus. Many of the residents at the Rose Hill Apartments love visiting the Botanical Gardens, so we have been helping to transform a jungle of weeds into their own version of the Botanical Gardens. It has certainly been hard work; we have weeded, ripped out trees, raked, and planted bulbs, and it is finally starting to look like a garden!

Our team of gardeners

Ripping out trees and weeds

In our meetings, we also try to do service projects. One week, we put together care packages for the homeless. Another week, we made cards for wounded veterans. This month, we have been making pink ribbons and selling them in order to raise money to help in the fight against breast cancer.

Circle K is a great way to get involved on campus and really make a difference in the lives of others. Fordham encourages its students not only to get everything we can out of college for ourselves, but also to search for ways to serve others.