Boys Town New England played host to a new community group over the Labor Day weekend as it welcomed Salve Regina University students to its Bazarsky Portsmouth campus.
Each year, 30 first-year Salve Regina students participate in the Service Plunge, a three-day long service immersion, prior to their orientation week. These students volunteer at a variety of community partners in and around Newport, RI. The students chosen for this experience all show a deep commitment to service and giving back to the community they will be a part of throughout their time at Salve. These students volunteered at nine local organizations and collectively put in 740 hours of service.
“What a wonderful way for us to partner with the local community,” said Glenn Hofmann, Boys Town Development Director. “I was so impressed with how engaged each of the students were during the presentation. They all clearly learned a lot about our mission and are eager to build a relationship with our organization.”
This year the students had the privilege of visiting Boys Town New England where they were able to hear about the mission of the organization. James Hackett, who was enrolled in the Boys Town program over a decade ago and currently is an Assistant Family Home teacher, also spoke to the group.
“Our time at Boys Town helped me to realize that small actions can change a person’s life,” said Salve Regina University student Ty G. “I would love to volunteer at Boys Town in the future to hopefully be a part of this change.”
In addition to hearing about the mission, the Salve students donated gift bags filled with books and school supplies for the Boys Town students. The visiting students were very inspired by the mission of Boys Town and are eager to create a strong partnership between Boys Town and Salve Regina. The Salve students reflected very positively upon their time at Boys Town.
“I believe organizations like this are so important to help people overcome the unfair circumstance they have been placed in, and to help them become the best versions of themselves,” said Salve Regina student Sydney D. “I would love it if the Salve service community could work closely with Boys Town in the future.”
Boys Town New England, with offices in Portsmouth and Providence, RI, served and impacted nearly 21,500 children in New England in 2023. Salve Regina University was founded in 1934 and enrolls more than 2,800 undergraduate and graduate students on its Newport, RI, campus.
