UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — While many college students spent their spring break catching up on sleep, traveling or heading somewhere warm, more than 40 Penn State students and staff chose to spend their week serving communities across Pennsylvania.
Participants from Penn State Abington, Beaver, Berks, Fayette, New Kensington and University Park traveled to Pittsburgh and the Greater Philadelphia Region to collaborate with local organizations working to fight food insecurity and uplift their neighborhoods. Volunteers spent their days helping with food preparation and distribution and stocking shelves in opportunities facilitated by Penn State Outreach.
Students seek out volunteer opportunities
Irene Hayes, a criminal justice major at Penn State Beaver, volunteered at Families Matter Food Pantry in Monaca, Beaver County, which is about 45 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. Hayes is not new to the experience as she also volunteered at the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C., during spring break last year.
“My experience volunteering at Families Matter Food Pantry meant more to me than words can explain. I truly enjoyed helping and especially loved when the owners and workers shared their personal experiences running the food pantry, and how much it means to the community,” Hayes said. “I learned that a lot of families rely heavily on the food pantry to feed their kids every day, and that touched my heart because giving back to the community is something I believe we should do more, especially for families in need.”
Families Matter Food Pantry serves more than 500 families each week. Rachel Triscila, director of funding, said volunteers are essential to their day-to-day operations.
“The Penn State students and staff who joined us worked hard, collaborated beautifully with our team, followed directions attentively and brought great energy to the pantry,” Triscila said. “We look forward to welcoming them back again soon!”
The students who volunteered at Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank assisted in stocking “The Market,” which is the on-site food pantry. They also served as part of the Shopping Buddies program assisting community members from 85 households.
Students learn new skills
Across the commonwealth, students supported meal preparation and distribution at organizations like MANNA and Broad Street Love in the Greater Philadelphia Region, where volunteers play a critical role in operations that reach thousands of residents each week.
At Broad Street Love, Tsehynesh Lewis, a security and risk analysis major in the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State University Park, volunteered during the organization’s lunch service by helping to prepare the space, welcome guests and serve meals.
“It was new to me because I haven’t worked as a server or waiter before, but we worked in teams, which helped,” Lewis said. “Through this opportunity, I also met Penn State alumni and students from other campuses. It was overall a fun experience, and it felt good to give back, I would volunteer with Broad Street Love again.”
MANNA CEO Sue Daugherty emphasized the central role volunteers play for the organization which provides medically tailored meals and nutrition counseling to people living with serious illnesses across the Greater Philadelphia Region and southern New Jersey.
“Volunteers have been the heartbeat of our ‘Food as Medicine’ work since 1990. Since our founding, we’ve delivered nearly 25 million meals, all prepared and distributed from our kitchen with the help of volunteers,” Daugherty said. “Each week, hundreds of volunteers fill our kitchen to chop, portion and package meals, while others generously use their own vehicles to deliver meals to clients’ homes. Without our many volunteers, including the recent group of Penn State students, MANNA's work would simply not be possible."
Penn State’s land-grant mission
Justin Aglio, associate vice president for Penn State Outreach, said experiences like the spring break service days give students an opportunity to see community needs firsthand while supporting organizations already doing critical work.
"Through partnerships across Pennsylvania, our students are stepping into real-world challenges and making meaningful contributions,” Aglio said. “This is Penn State’s land-grant mission in action, connecting learning with impact to serve communities across the commonwealth.”
Kelvin Lendeh, a criminal justice major from Penn State Berks who spent two days over spring break volunteering at both MANNA and Broad Street Love, said this experience inspired him to want to give back.
"I love helping others, and volunteering is one way I can give back to those in need within my community,” Lendeh said. “When I first heard about this opportunity, I was excited not only to spend my spring break giving back, but also to volunteer close to home and support my local community. I’m grateful for experiences like this that continue to shape my perspective and remind me why service matters."
Visit the Penn State Outreach website to learn more about how Outreach strengthens the University’s land-grant mission through its three Commonwealth Commitments: Inspire Discovery, Prepare Students and Serve Pennsylvania.