8th Dimension

On Thursday, April 23rd, 8D sponsored a speakers panel of Haverford alums that work in the Philadelphia area in community service and social justice. This well attended panel sought to inform students interested in similar careers after graduation what it takes to make it in the fast and furious life of community service.

The panel included:
Michael Froehlich (’97): a Staff Attorney at Community Legal Services

*Susanna Gilbertson (’98): a Training and Education Supervisor at Bilingual
Domestic Violence Program at Lutheran Settlement House

*Tim Ifill (’03): the Executive Director and Co-founder of Philly Fellows

*Jane Weber (’08): a Haverford House fellow at the Lourdes Center for Public
Health to coordinate student public health research in Camden.

Jobs in these fields are becoming just as competitive as other fields, so for those who couldn’t make it here’s a helpful hint: bilingual is the way to be!

On Friday morning eleven students volunteered at Mill Creek Farm. Despite the rain we were all eager to get outside and get our hands dirty. Mill Creek Farm is an urban farm in West Philadelphia that functions as a place of education and source of nutritious foods for undeserved populations in the area.

Upon arriving at the farm Jo, one of the co-founders of the farm, led a tour of the various facilities and land. Jade, the other founder, started those who had been there before on the first project of the morning, putting together a new wheelbarrow. After the tour we were split into different groups and assigned tasks to help get the farm ready for the main growing season. We did everything from setting up a trellis for the peas to weeding the asparagus bed to laying down the irrigation tubes.

Even with our time being cut short by the rain, we had a great time. Look for more service days like this in the future both at Mill Creek Farm and other gardens in the area.