Students Partner With Nonprofit to Address Community Needs

Eighteen Penn College students in the Service Learning in Sociology course sponsored a free community day on Saturday at Firetree Place, 600 Campbell St., Williamsport. The four-hour event, “Fall Into Firetree Place,” featured arts and crafts, music, food, face-painting, games, and appearances by Penn College’s dance team, men’s and women’s basketball teams, and the Wildcat mascot. “The SOC410 students begin their semester with a sociological evaluation of our local community and identify a significant sociocultural challenge," said the students’ instructor, D. Robert Cooley, assistant professor of anthropology/environmental science. "Then, they establish a partnership with a local human service organization and develop a semester-long service learning project to address this problem in a way that meets the needs of the client, the community, and also allows the students to apply the specialized skills they have learned in their classroom work." Marking its first anniversary this month, Firetree Place is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational and personal enrichment to area youth, families and seniors through comprehensive programs, camps, workshops and seminars.