PELLA — As part of the college’s annual Service Day on Tuesday, 700 Central students, faculty and staff participated in 80 volunteer projects in 13 zip codes across central Iowa. Classes were cancelled all day to allow students to participate. Four of the projects were organized in conjunction with community partners in Newton.

At the Centre for the Arts and Artists (right), volunteers began building a pergola, or arbor, to welcome visitors into the building. Funding for the project came from an Iowa Campus Compact award received by Walter Cannon, professor of English, for his excellence in integrating community engagement in his courses. The Centre for the Arts and Artists provides an environment for the creation and display of art and aims to establish a new and diverse culture, including economic opportunity, for the community.

At Peck Child Development Center, volunteers raked leaves and repositioned gravel under the playground equipment. At Willowbrook Adult Day Services (above), students did spring cleaning and planting. In Maytag Park, Central College volunteers removed brush and sticks and took out a retaining wall.