The Brown & White

The community service office will hold its seventh annual Spring Fling on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the front lawn of the University Center.

The student-run event provides the opportunity for South Side children and families to spend a day at the university and participate in various seasonal activities, including an egg hunt, dyeing eggs, face painting and other art projects.

The day of fun and fare works to bridge the gap between Lehigh students and members of the surrounding community.

Community Service Director Carolina Hernandez has been involved with the program since its first year.

Hernandez said student volunteers help organize and run Spring Fling events and their support is important for the success of the program.

"As a staff, everyone is working together," Hernandez said. "We have a very good crew of 16 people that are working behind the scenes to make this happen. As an office, we come up with everything, and then we invite groups to come and show up and dedicate their day to help brighten a kid's life."

Spring Fling coordinator Allie Mulrow, '09, said she started planning in October for this year's event.

She said she receives help from students who volunteer individually or who are from student organizations, including Leadership Lehigh, sports teams, Greek life, the Gryphon Society and residential communities.

Students have the opportunity to help the community service staff coordinate Spring Fling activities during Feel Good Fridays. About 200 volunteers are now working with the program, Hernandez said.

A large number of volunteers are necessary because of the many activities offered during Spring Fling, Hernandez said.

Besides several art projects and sports activities, Spring Fling will feature a DJ, a magician and a gift giveaway, she said.

The activities are primarily aimed at children, but starting last year the community service office has tried to gear the event more toward families, Hernandez said.

Last year, Spring Fling overlapped with President Alice Gast's inauguration, so the office changed Spring Fling to include South Side families, not just children.

Hernandez and Mulrow said the event drew over 525 children last year, but they are only expecting 400 this year simply because Spring Fling will not overlap with another large event.

For many of the children attending, it will not be their first Spring Fling.

"We see the same kids year after year," Hernandez said. "I've seen kids go from strollers to being toddlers. The same families come each year, so we have to keep coming up with new activities."

Most children learn about the event through fliers passed out at their schools, Hernandez said. Many kids have begun to expect the fliers to show up in their school around spring time, so anticipation for the event is high.

Hernandez said she has already received calls from parents who are looking forward to Spring Fling.

The community service office asks for help not only from Lehigh students but from the outside community as well, especially when it comes to food donations.

Pizza Hut, Dominos and The Goosey Gander are all important donors, Mulrow said. Donations are essential because of the large amount of food necessary for the program.

One of the main goals of Spring Fling is to show South Side children how Lehigh works and inspire them to attend college in the future.

"I think the goal of it is to make our families and neighbors feel welcome on campus and to have a great day where we can all celebrate and have fun," Hernandez said.

"Exposure to college life is important in our office as students come on to campus," she said. "We want them to realize that they can go to college and help out with programs like this for others."

Volunteers said the children enjoy themselves during Spring Fling.

"The goal is to bring community interaction to Lehigh," Shaun Elwell. '09, said.

Elwell said he first became involved with the program his freshman year through his fraternity, Psi Upsilon, and last year, he coordinated his entire house's involvement.

This year Elwell has a slightly different job. On Saturday, he will be the Easter Bunny.

"It's spectacular to participate," he said. "The kids are so happy to be there because they don't usually have all this attention aimed toward them or so many things to do right in front of them."

Mulrow said it is a rewarding experience to be able to connect with the kids.

"Seeing the kids when they're there is amazing," Mulrow said. "They'll come up to you and ask you to do a craft with them or give you something they made just for you."

The community service office is encouraging everyone to participate in this year's program.