PRESS RELEASE: JANUARY 24, 2025

Day of giving, community service at SJR State

SJR State's Vikings Day of Service

St. Johns River State College partnered Friday with 15 local organizations in the College’s semiannual Vikings Day of Service. More than 200 employees and students from the Orange Park, Palatka and St. Augustine campuses volunteered to spruce up playgrounds, restock shelves, hammer nails, and give a shelter full of animals a day of cuddles and care. The day included hundreds of pounds of roadside and beachside trash gathered and more than 40 blood donations.

Service locations included Blessings in a Backpack; Habitat for Humanity Build; Ayla’s Acres; Putnam Parks & Recreation; St. Johns Council on Aging; St. Gerard Campus; Feed the Need Putnam County; The Arc of Putnam County; the Clay Education Foundation; Orange Park High School; Water Works Environmental Education Center; Betty Griffin Center Thrift Store; the Clothes Closet and Food Pantry; and more.

SJR State President Joe Pickens said the College looks forward to its service day held each spring and fall. “I’m proud of our college community and their eagerness to lend a helping hand to improve our community and for the lives we touch outside of the classroom,” Pickens said. “The camaraderie the day brings draws us all closer as a college family.”

In 2019, SJR State Senior Vice President Melanie Brown spearheaded the event to engage employees and students as volunteers in meaningful service opportunities that address the community’s needs. “This is our seventh year of sustaining service events and growing SJR State’s community involvement,” Brown said. “The reason St. Johns River State College is so special is because of the dedication of our faculty and staff to our students and our communities.”

The College will hold its fall service day on Friday, November 21, 2025.

Organizations and agencies operating within the College’s service district of Clay, Putnam, and St. Johns counties are encouraged to submit a service project proposal.

Additional photos from the Vikings Day of Service can be found at SJR State's flickr page.