Happy Holidays!

COAR has had a fantastic fall semester thanks to the help of all our volunteers! We just finished our Headstart Gift Box Drive and it was the most successful drive yet.

Headstart is a preschool program for underprivileged children and we collected and wrapped boxes for all the boys and girls in the Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg, and Stafford Headstart Programs. This year we did 695 boxes! We had a wrapping party in the dining hall where lots of students came to wrap and pick up boxes. When everyone returned their boxes we had a stuffing party to fill remaining boxes with various toys, coloring books, hats/gloves/socks, and donated toothbrushes and toothpastes.

We would really like to thank all the dentists who generously donated their brushes and paste. There is so much, we will have extra for next year which is perfect. Thank you to all faculty, staff, and students who agreed to fill a box(es). Needless to say, the children will be overjoyed at receiving their gifts.

Probably the best part about this event is that we were able to deliver the gifts to all the children of Fredericksburg Headstart. Our Dean of Student Affairs, Dean Rucker, dresses up as Santa every year and delivers all the presents to all the children! So, a big thank you to everyone that helped us and the picture below shows only a small fraction of the happiness of the day!

Happy November!

First, a big thank you to all the volunteers who came out to help us for Pumpkin Palooza by being a tour guide or doing crafts with the kids! We really appreciate your support and dedication–we really couldn’t pull off such a successful event without you! We will be posting some memorable photos from the event soon.

Second, our last event of the semester is upon us: the Head Start Gift Box Drive! For those who do not know what this is, it is a holiday shoe box drive benefiting underprivileged children in the area. We encourage students and people in the community to pick up a box and decorate it (or get a decorated and wrapped box) and fill it with goodies that will please children like coloring books, toys, and books.

This is a great event to get into the giving spirit of the holidays and the children become overjoyed when they receive their presents. If you have $5-$10 to spare or want to get into the holiday mood, stop on by our office or email us for a box! We will be having a wrapping party on November 18 5-8 PM filled with holiday cheer, wrapping paper, and goodies! You won’t want to miss out on this event!

As always, if you have questions, don’t hesitate to email us at coarumw@gmail.com

During the fall semester, COAR puts on a few seasonal and fun events. Mark your calendar because these will be rewarding experiences! Here is a layout of our events…

Into the Streets, October 1st, 1-4PM

• Go out “into the streets” of Fredericksburg to take part in various activities that benefit the community!

• The activities range from environmental, social, and historical–you can take your pick.

Pumpkin Palooza, October 30th

• Trick or Treat around Campus!

• Volunteer to walk with community children and families around campus as they trick or treat, or help out with crafts and games in the Great Hall. This will be a fun event because of all the cute children with their costumes!

Head Start, November/December

• Volunteer to fill a shoebox with goodies for underprivileged children in the community!

• There will be a wrapping party and we hope to set a new record of delivered gifts!

contact us at coarumw@gmail.com if you have any questions!

Welcome UMW freshmen and transfers and welcome back UMW students! What a great year this will be, we are so excited for all the volunteer opportunities coming our way and how you all can get involved. Today is the Club Carnival and we will be on Ball Circle for sign ups and general interest. Additionally, we will be having our COAR Interest Meeting Wednesday, September 7th at 5 pm in the Great Hall. All our lead council members will be there to talk about their programs and we will have sign ups right after. This is a great way to get some volunteer opportunities and meet other people who share the same interests as you. We hope to see you there!

COAR would like to thank all of our volunteers for another record breaking year for COAR. Through COAR programs, UMW students volunteered over 7,859 hours in the Fredericksburg community and on Alternative Break trips. For the second year in a row, UMW was named to the President’s Community Service Honor Roll. Check out the press release here!

COAR’s Annual Spring Forward Festival!

The annual festival thrown by Community Outreach and Resources went flawlessly this year, and we couldn’t have done it without our volunteers! The location was perfect, as was the weather (perfectly sunny.) Check out our flickr account, UMW COAR, for excellent pictures taken by our very own Professor Rao!

This weekend, COAR staff and a group of volunteers attended the Annual Virginia Special Olympics Basketball Championships at Mountain View High School, in Stafford, VA. A few days before, we made posters for the athletes to cheer them on with phrases like “GO TEAM GO!” and “Nothing but Net!” All in all, the event was both successful and fun. We were able to attend the opening ceremony, complete with dancing, a “hoop-off” and uni-cyclers.

The energy was contagious during the games, as there was music playing that got the spectators up and dancing, like the Macarena and Cupid Shuffle! Our posters were a great hit with people around us. At the Opening Ceremony, the Special Olympics Athlete of the Year was presented and gave a speech and we discovered that it was our very own Grace Ann Paxton! She has been a Special Olympics athlete for 19 years and is currently the top ranked woman’s golf player in the world. We are very proud of Grace Ann and the prestige that comes with this position–her trophy for being the Athlete of the Year is now prominently displayed at her workplace in the Eagle’s Nest.

COAR had a really great time at the Basketball Championships and we’re looking forward to attending it again next year!

http://www.specialolympicsva.com/

COAR is a diverse group of students serving community needs through an active exchange of service and learning while continually striving to find solutions to problems that challenge the community.

Click here for last year’s COAR NEWSLETTER!