Syracuse University students turned the parking lot of the Vincent House, a youth community center in the West Side neighborhood, into a carnival complete with face painting, sack races and a beanbag toss Saturday.

The carnival was created as part of this year’s Big Event, a day of community service put on by Orange Seeds, SU’s first-year leadership program. This year’s event, called “Workstock 2010,” bussed students to seven different locations on the West Side of Syracuse. Volunteer activities included clearing garbage, playing with local children and planting flowers.

In previous years, volunteers have spread across nearly 20 different locations across the city. But this year, all students were bused to Skiddy Park on the West Side and went to seven locations in the neighborhood. This year’s decreased number of sites and closer proximity seemed to be more successful, said Claire Stumbras, a junior policy studies and public relations major and director of Orange Seeds.

The turnout this year was greater than past years’, Stumbras said. About 150 to 200 students showed up for Saturday’s event, despite 304 students signing up.

The event began at 10 a.m. in the Life Sciences Complex, where students were able to check in and receive T-shirts and refreshments. Opening remarks followed at 10:45 p.m., as members of Orange Seeds prepared the students for the day’s events.

At the Vincent House, where the students built the carnival for children in the neighborhood, volunteers also assisted in clearing the center’s garage and setting up a garage sale.

At a neighboring location on 601 Tully St., students cleared plants and garbage from a small plot of land. They cleaned the land to make room for what is expected to be converted into a storefront or possible paved ramp for the preexisting adjacent store, said Colleen Baker, an Orange Seeds member and communications and rhetorical studies major.

Some students stayed at Skiddy Park, where they cleared garbage and spread mulch, said Shelby Epps, an Orange Seeds member and pre-law major.

Orange Seeds members said having Skiddy Park as the main hub of activity was very effective.

 “I think having a central main location really brought everyone together,” Stumbras said.

Published on April 25, 2010 at 12:00 pm