This year, Friday activities kicking off Homecoming weekend are being held in conjunction with WMU's annual Into the Streets volunteer program for the greater Kalamazoo area. A national community service campaign, the program promotes volunteerism by involving college students in a one-time service project. Since its inception, millions of students across the country have participated in the fall and spring components of the campaign. Student Volunteer Services in WMU's Lee Honors College sponsors Into the Streets for the local area. Katrina Ross Chester, coordinator of Student Volunteer Services, says the 1999 effort has been expanded in two important ways.
Homecoming traditionally generates a tremendous amount of school spirit.
We hope to build on that enthusiasm to showcase the tremendous volunteer spirit we have here at WMU and in the greater Kalamazoo area. Into the Streets begins with check-in and registration at 10 a.m. in WMU's Oakland Gym, which is located just east of Waldo Stadium on Stadium Drive. Afterward, the volunteers may return to WMU to participate in Buster's Big Top Carnival in the Student Recreation Center or attend other Homecoming activities taking place Friday afternoon.