More than 30 people from local schools and service agencies attended a workshop June 5 at Tusculum College about the volunteer opportunities available during the annual "Days of Caring" event.

The workshop, hosted by Tusculum College's Service-Learning Center and the Greeneville-Greene County Volunteer Center, focused on how organizations can participate in the Days of Caring and possibly extend volunteer involvement into long-term projects.

The Days of Caring is an event that brings together schools and community service agencies and organizations with students, civic organizations, churches, and other groups wanting to provide volunteer service, said Mary Fitzpatrick, director of the Volunteer Center.

The event, now in its sixth year overall, is sponsored by Tusculum College, the Volunteer Center of Greeneville-Greene County and the United Way of Greene County. The college has been a partner in the Days of Caring for five years. This year's event is scheduled for Aug. 28-Sept. 7.

"The college kicks off the Days of Caring with Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day, and in the remainder of the Days of Caring other volunteers can work with the community service organizations to pick up from what the students are able to accomplish," Fitzpatrick said.

Named for a major college benefactress, Nettie Fowler McCormick Day involves the entire Tusculum campus - students, staff and faculty - coming together to provide a day of service to the community. In giving the invocation, Dr. Steve Weisz, campus minister at Tusculum, shared a quote from McCormick - "We plan - and God steps in with another plan for us and He is all-wise and the most loving friend we have always helping us."

Last year during the Days of Caring, a total of 59 projects, involving 955 individuals and 4,080 hours of work, were undertaken for organizations ranging from the Greeneville-Greene County Community Ministries' Food Bank to the Head Start pre-school program. The Tusculum College community was involved in 43 of those projects with 455 students from the college giving 2,080 hours of service.

Dr. Jonathan Franz, provost and academic vice president at Tusculum, welcomed those attending the workshop to the college and thanked them for the services they provide to the community. He encouraged the group to think creatively and share ideas during the workshop, drawing on both civic and religious traditions of public service for the common good.

After the opening session, the workshop participants were divided into three individual sessions - one sharing basic information about Tusculum's service day and the Days of Caring; another focusing on school participation; and a third on how organizations can involve the college and other volunteers from the Days of Caring in long term projects.

Participating in the workshop were representatives from Comcare, the Boys and the Girls Club, the Foster Grandparents program, the Greene County Health Department, the Greeneville and Greene County school systems, the George Clem Neighborhood Association, Holston Home for Children, Partners in Education, the Retired Service Volunteer Program, the Roby Fitzgerald Adult Center, Rural Resources, the Social Security Office, and the Third Judicial District Child Advocacy Center.

For more information about the Days of Caring, contact the Volunteer Center at 639-9341. Organizations that may have a project for students on Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day or want more information about the event are asked to contact Joyce Doughty at the Service-Learning Center at (423) 636-7300 ext. 252.