Kettering students start college career with community cleanup

Flint, MI — Nearly 200 Kettering University students began their academic journey by participating in several community cleanup projects in the area surrounding campus.

Through Kettering’s Service Saturday initiative, they worked inside and outside at Flint Children’s Museum, assisting with exhibits and the garden. They helped homeowners in the Mott Park neighborhood clean garages, clear gutters, trim bushes, spread mulch, and complete other lawn projects.

They also picked up paintbrushes and covered graffiti in the University Avenue Corridor. The students even stenciled drains in partnership with the Genesee County Drain Commission.

Kettering has organized Service Saturday events for over a decade. The day of service is an annual part of new student orientation and occurs in July and October.

“Service Saturday represents an intentional effort to demonstrate that the University is committed to being a good neighbor and to playing an active role in supporting Flint’s revitalization,” said Jack Stock, Director of External Relations. “It is a lesson in civics that says Kettering’s problem-solvers want to be a part of the solution wherever we go.”

Past Service Saturday projects include cleaning up blighted city lots, painting homes in the neighborhood, Flint River cleanups, planting trees, restoring grave sites, building playgrounds, and working on the grounds of Durant-Tuuri Mott Elementary.