Harrisburg - Students from the 14 Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education universities, working in conjunction with the United Way of Pennsylvania, will take part in community service projects across the Commonwealth over the next several weeks as part of the first “Keystone Kares” partnership.

The Keystone Kares partnership will encourage students to come out and say “thank you” to their host communities by participating in projects including stream cleanups, landscaping, painting and general fix-ups. Students will assist non-profit organizations as well as many of their neighbors.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to show how much they value the communities in which they live during their college experience,” said PASSHE Chancellor John C. Cavanaugh. “Because so many of our students attend one of our universities within 50 miles of their homes and take their first jobs in the Commonwealth, they are establishing their place as valuable members of their communities. Participating in community service is a valuable part of the educational experience, and one that I hope will stay with the students for the rest of their lives.”

“United Way is thrilled to collaborate on this important initiative with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and its students,” said United Way of Pennsylvania President Tony Ross. “We commend the students for their foresight and we look forward to working with PASSHE on Keystone Kares and other community-based efforts.”

Students at the 14 PASSHE universities have been involved in community service projects through a variety of campus and student organizations for many years. This is the first year student government leaders from all of the schools have worked together under the same umbrella to coordinate their efforts. The United Way assisted the student leaders in identifying projects and will provide additional volunteers in several communities.

Students at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania will kick things off Saturday when as many as 600 students will take part in a variety of clean-up projects around town, concentrating on areas where students and local residents live side-by-side and public areas such as Town Park and the Market Square fountain. Projects will include raking, weeding, sweeping and picking up trash. Students also will be available to help with projects at individual residences.

Students from West Chester University of Pennsylvania will join with others in the community April 17 to help clean up Goose Creek, which runs through the Borough of West Chester. Students also will pick up litter throughout the borough.

Mansfield University of Pennsylvania students also will take to the streets of both the Borough of Mansfield and neighboring Wellsboro April 17 to help residents with a variety of work projects, including spring cleaning, picking up trash and landscaping.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania students will go “Into the Streets”on April 24. Coordinated by the Office of Service Learning, the event will involve volunteers working with local nonprofit organizations and human service agencies to finish projects that may have been postponed because of a lack of time or resources. Work projects could include tree planting and other landscaping, painting and general cleanup and offering services to the aged or physically challenged.

At least three universities – Clarion, East Stroudsburg and Slippery Rock – have planned a week of special activities. ESU students will conduct Community Kindness Week April 19-23, with a variety of events scheduled to raise awareness and support for community organizations ranging from a local animal shelter to the American Red Cross. Among the other highlights of the week will be a “Day of Caring and Giving Back,” April 22, when students will work with the United Way on service projects throughout Monroe County.

Additional community service projects still are being planned by student leaders at the other PASSHE universities.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with nearly 117,000 students. The 14 PASSHE universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Approximately 454,000 PASSHE alumni live and work in Pennsylvania. The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania.

The United Way system across Pennsylvania represents more than half a million individual and corporate donors who support initiatives to improve education, financial stability and the ability to connect people to services through prevention, education and early intervention.