Seventeen Oglethorpe students, athletes and staff recently joined volunteers from several Atlanta area colleges and universities for a massive beautification project benefiting the Atlanta BeltLine, a sprawling network of public trails and parks at the city’s core.
Teaming up with the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, volunteers spent the afternoon cleaning parks, serving food, and fostering youth and community engagement. The project was organized in celebration of 404 Day — a nod to Atlanta’s “404” area code.
More than 300 students from nine higher education institutions were dispatched to four prominent locations along the 22-mile trail. Together with student volunteers from Clark Atlanta University, Oglethorpe students cleaned up the paths and riverbeds around the Bitsy Grant Tennis Center and Bobby Jones Golf Course, hauling in pounds of trash.
“The purpose of this project was to bring the colleges and universities throughout the 404 together to team up for a good cause,” says Assistant Director of Athletics for Operations Cindy Vaios, who helped coordinate the Oglethorpe volunteers. “Anytime students and community join, it’s a win-win.”
A student hauls two bags of trash from a riverbed near the Atlanta BeltLine
“Numerous members of the community who were out that day enjoying the BeltLine thanked our students for their volunteer service. Our students realize that they can make a difference and working in the community is a great way to do it.”
The universities that participated in this year’s “404 Day of Service” include:
- Atlanta Metropolitan State College
- Clark Atlanta University
- Emory University
- Georgia State University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Morris Brown College
- Morehouse College
- Oglethorpe University
- Spelman College
Celebrated every year on Apr. 4, “404 Day” is an annual celebration of the soul of Atlanta, one of the most vibrant cities in the Southeast. In addition to city-wide service projects, “404 Day” is often observed through festivals, music and art across the city.
