Mercy College and Westchester Community College Alumni Team Up for Earth Day Community Service

This past Earth Day, Saturday April 22, alumni from Mercy College joined forces with alumni from Westchester Community College (WCC) to clean up a Westchester County Park. Around 20 alumni and staff from both colleges worked together to clear invasive species and garbage from the land on the East Rumbrook Dog Park in Greenburgh as part of the Great Saw Mill River Cleanup, working in partnership with Groundworks Hudson Valley.

Groundworks Hudson Valley is a nonprofit headquartered in Yonkers dedicated to sustainable environmental change in urban neighborhoods through community-based partnerships. 

“It was great to offer this opportunity for Mercy alumni to make a visible difference on Earth Day,” said Leah Noonan, associate director of alumni relations at Mercy College. “Working with WCC made the day extra special.” 
 
Each year, Groundworks recruits volunteers to haul out tons of trash and debris from a dozen Westchester County Parks on their annual Earth Day event. This year marked the first year Mercy and WCC teamed up together to recruit alumni volunteers for one of the cleanup sites. It proved to be both fun and productive, with nearly 13 bags collected, filled with garbage and invasive plants. 
 
Volunteer and Mercy Alumna Norma Silva ’84 has volunteered for Groundworks for many years and loved the idea of participating in this clean-up event with her fellow Mercy alumni. “It’s nice to celebrate the connections SUNY Westchester Community College has with our regional 4-year institutions,” said Michelle Schleibaum, director of alumni engagement for WCC, who has partnered with Mercy on several joint alumni activities and cites Mercy as a strong partner. “We can use that connection to serve the community we share.”