SWAV makes difference in community

By Amanda Carpenter

People involved with the Students With A Vision Club at St. John Fisher College say they set out to make a difference in people’s lives around Rochester. The group’s activities put that sentiment into practice.

According to Sally Vaughan, Fisher’s director of campus community service, the club started back in 2005 when a couple of freshman service scholars got the idea for the club in spring 2004. “The club didn’t really have much money or support in the beginning, it was more of an idea at first that turned into something bigger,” explains Vaughan, who has been SWAV’s adviser since the beginning.

Eventually, in the fall of 2005, SWAV was recognized as a club by the Student Government Association. More students joined in over the years to help make an even bigger difference.  

The main elements that SWAV focuses on are the elderly, education, the environment, and animals, and since the club centers most of its attention towards the city schools, fundraising plays a distinct role in getting supplies that are needed for the different activities that SWAV does.  “We’re doing a lot of planning for the future,” says Vaughan.

           When asked about why the students are involved in this club, Vaughan replies with “many of the students are building on a life they already had. It’s almost like a network.” Vaughan refers to the fact that a lot of the students in the club have volunteered and done community service in high school and are continuing the tradition through their college years. “These students are not doing this because they have to do it but because it exposes them and expands their circle,” explains Vaughan.

Emily Witty, a junior and the president of SWAV, said  “I am a part of SWAV because I enjoy volunteering and I truly believe that we are all on this Earth to help one another. Not only that, I get to meet students on campus who enjoy the same things I do.” Witty has been involved with SWAV since she was a freshman and  would love to work for a non-profit someday.

“We do events that help food pantries, Habitat for Humanity, the inner city schools in Rochester, and a wide range of places to give hope and help to the Rochester as well as the Fisher Community,” explains Witty.  

She recalls a certain moment while visiting with an elderly woman at the Friendly Home. “She kept telling me over and over again how she went to Nazareth and I went to Fisher, and as I was painting her nails, I just kept thinking about how patient I had to be with her, because I knew she had Alzheimer's, and that my grandmother is losing her memory slowly, and I know she appreciates when I am patient with her.”

  Project Community Convergence, or PCC, is one of SWAV’s main events.  It started in 2004 will be going into its sixth year. This event involves about 80 Fisher students assisting schools around the Rochester city with painting, cleaning, washing and whatever else they can help with. The co-chairs of this are Danielle Burgos and Anthony Gleason.

Burgos, a senior, is PCC’s renovation  coordinator and as a First Generation scholar, she has taken part in this every year.  “We reach out to schools and try to make Rochester a better community,” adds Burgos.This event involves a lot of planning and fundraising and takes place during two weekends with the volunteers working about 12-18 hours throughout that time. Among those volunteers are principals of the schools and also alumni of Fisher.  

When asked what she was most looking forward to about this year’s PCC, Burgos responded with “this year, the students at Charlotte High School actually get to work with us, and that’s awesome that they get to have pride in their school by making a difference.” After the two weekends of work, a “social” takes place a week after in which the principals and janitors of the schools give the volunteers insight on how the kids reacted to the new improvements and how the project impacted them.

       “These students volunteer on a regular basis,” says Vaughan. “I believe that they (SWAV) can do it, and the bigger the group, the bigger the difference can be made.” Witty adds “each student that volunteers with SWAV does it out of selflessness, and does it because they truly enjoy making their community a better place - and that’s inspiring.”