Panther Real Estate Club President Sofia Zervos and Vice President Jack Savage take a break for a photo while volunteering their time to do yard work on Make a Difference Day. (UWM Photo/Luella Dooley-Menet)
Shirley Warren watches from her side patio as student volunteers do yard work to prepare her property for winter. (UWM Photo/Luella Dooley-Menet)
Cooper Lefebvre, UWM senior and Panther Real Estate Club member, uses a hedge trimmer on some overgrown bushes while volunteering on Make a Difference Day in Milwaukee. (UWM Photo/Luella Dooley-Menet)
Students from UWM were joined by Marquette University students to do seasonal yard work for older adults in Milwaukee for Make a Difference Day. (UWM Photo/Luella Dooley-Menet)
UWM student volunteers from the Panther Real Estate Club volunteer their time to complete seasonal yard work for elderly adults on Make a Difference Day. (UWM Photo/Luella Dooley-Menet)
More than 300 students and staff from UW-Milwaukee spent a Saturday morning helping out some older adults in the Milwaukee area.
Some 80 Milwaukee-area older adults received help from UWM volunteers during this fall’s Make a Difference Day, a citywide service event that connects volunteers with older adults who need assistance preparing their homes and yards for seasonal changes. Volunteers from Marquette University assisted an additional 28 households.
The older adults served through the program are clients of Eras Senior Network and Eastside Senior Services, two nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping older adults thrive through every stage of aging.
“I’m so grateful for these students,” said Shirley Warren, whose recent fall has made it more difficult to take care of her yard. “I know my neighbors are going to be so happy that it’s getting done, too.”
