More than 750 Tusculum College students will be providing a day of service in the community on Aug. 28.

The college's Service-Learning Center is now seeking worthwhile projects for that day, the annual campus-wide Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day on Wednesday, Aug. 28, as well as the Days of Caring that follow.

Robin Fife, director of the Service-Learning Center describes "Nettie Day," as it is affectionately called by students, as a day of marking not only the beginning of the community-wide Days of Caring but also as a statement about the importance of service in the college's mission. On this day, named for a major college benefactress, the entire campus - students, staff and faculty - comes together to provide a day of service to the community.

Days of Caring, a program focusing on service opportunities for the whole community that lasts through Sept. 12, is sponsored by Tusculum College, the Volunteer Center of Greeneville-Greene County and the United Way of Greene County.

Projects for non-profit organizations, agencies and schools are eligible for consideration. The projects should take from a half-day to a few days to complete and can range from landscaping in front of a school to hosting a picnic lunch for residents of apartments for senior citizens to cleaning trails in the National Forest.

"While we encourage organizations to send in all their requests for projects, there is no way we can guarantee that every request will be fulfilled," said Joyce Doughty, community service coordinator for the Service-Learning Center. However, projects will be kept on file and community groups may be able to complete them at a later date, she added.

Unless a request is made, there is no way for volunteers from the Tusculum and the Greene County community to provide service to an agency, she said. The deadline for submission of requests is Aug. 20, but the sooner they are received, the better the chances of having them fulfilled.

On Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day, groups of between 10 to 30 people will be available to work in different localities from 9 a.m. through 3 p.m. on Aug. 28. For the Days of Caring, volunteer groups and individuals will be available for projects through Sept. 12.

In the past, Tusculum College and community volunteers have provided several hundred hours of service, but the center wants to include as many agencies and organizations in Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day and the Days of Caring as have a need, Doughty said.

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.

Services provided can involve both human service (as visiting with developmentally disabled children or interacting with the elderly) and physical service (as in developing a nature trail or painting inside a building).

Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day was established in 1913 by the trustees of Tusculum in recognition of her beneficence to the school. Initially, the day had an emphasis on sprucing up the campus, in honor of her love of cleanliness and good order. The day has since evolved and now sends students, faculty and staff to work throughout the community, as well as on campus.

The Days of Caring program was started a few years ago as a community-wide effort to provide meaningful service to various non-profit organizations. Tusculum itself has been the beneficiary of efforts by Days of Caring volunteers during this period since the effort began a few years ago. Dormitory rooms have been painted, a nature trail created and parking lines repainted as the result of volunteer efforts. Individuals or groups wishing to volunteer are asked to contact Mary Fitzpatrick, director of the Volunteer Center, at 639-9341.

Materials and supplies needed for projects both on Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day and the Days of Caring have to be provided by the group requesting the work. However, donations or gifts of materials are also being accepted to provide supplies for projects to lessen the burden on non-profits needing the work.

For more information or to submit a request, contact Joyce Doughty at the Service-Learning Center at (423) 636-7300 ext. 7252) or by e-mail at jdoughty@tusculum.edu.