Who knew that service could be one big party?

All the telltale signs were there for the start of Emory Cares International Service Day on McDonough Field Saturday afternoon: Gold, helium-filled balloons. Music blasting from the stage. And lots and lots of happy, excited people.

An estimated 1,000 Emory volunteers packed McDonough, where they signed in and gathered with their groups (30 in all) for transport to their service projects around Atlanta. Some of the trips were pretty quick (shortly after leaving McDonough a couple dozen volunteers were aleady hard at work planting tree and beautifying Cox Ravine about 150 yards away), and others were far enough away (Jonesboro, for instance) that volunteers just drove straight there.

Every participant earned an Emory Cares t-shirt, and they flew off the tables, fast and furious. All the small and mediums were gone immediately, it seemed. And despite the masses of humaity, the entire sign-in process ran smoothly thanks to to the students from Volunteer Emory and the Student Alumni Association (SAA) staffing the tables.

MCdonough opened at 12:30 p.m. and by just after 1:00 p.m., most everyone was gone and on their way. Registration was a model of happy efficiency and the first step in what would be an exciting--and meaningful--day across the Emory community.

-- Eric Rangus, director of communications, EAA