PumpkinFest '09

Our 3rd Annual PumpkinFest celebration is quickly approaching!
This year, PumpkinFest will be held on Friday, October 30th from 11-3 pm on Fairfield Way between the CUE building and the library.

So what is PumpkinFest? Well let's see, there is FREE dairy bar pumpkin ice cream, FREE t-shirts, FREE pumpkin carving and (new this year) pumpkin painting, a giant pumpkin display, other seasonal treats like apples and hot chocolate, and all-around fall fun. You can even enter your pumpkins into a contest for $2 and win some great prizes! This is a campus-wide event, so it is open to all UConn students, faculty, and staff. You don't want to miss out on this one!

PumpkinFest is a flagstone ALD event, and will really get you in the Halloween spirit. We will be looking for volunteers to help during the event to serve as ice cream scoopers, t-shirt distributors, carving supervisors, and more. Sign-ups will be at this Monday's member meeting (10/19, 8pm, CUE 122) or by emailing uconnald@gmail.com

Even if you can't volunteer, be sure to stop by for some food or pumpkin carving. Encourage all your friends to come as well...we want this event to be bigger than ever!

This Monday's meeting will focus on PumpkinFest, and if you are able to come, you can help create some posters to hang around campus to advertise.

Committees: What they're all about

ALD at UConn has come a long way in a short period of time. But we don’t want it to stop here. As one of the largest student groups on campus, we, the ALD executive board, want to utilize that wealth of brain power and experience to create a lively, active, and fun organization. We want your input, feedback, ideas, and influence in the future runnings of this group. So how do we do that? Committees. Currently, we have 5 committees comprised of ALD members of various years, majors, and interests. These committees will meet regularly, depending on the schedules of its members. They will work to promote their specific focus, and to bring more events, recognition, organization, and opportunities to this group. All committees are actively seeking members, so pick the one that fits you best, and get involved!

The committees are: Outreach, Newsletter & Scrapbook, Social, Academic, and Major Events. Contact information and how to join can be found on our website and HuskyCT site, or email uconnald@gmail.com.

These are great activities to put on your resume and can help build your leadership skills. Plus, it is another way to meet new people and get to know your fellow ALDers!

I, personally, am running the Outreach committee, which is having its first meeting of the semester this Thursday, 9/24, in CUE 234 at 6:30PM. Feel free to stop by if you are interested or want to see what committees are all about.

Welcome Back ALDers

Last night we had our first general member meeting of the semester (more to come, and info from last nights meeting will be posted on HuskyCT shortly). It was a great turnout, so thanks again to everyone who came.

Tonight ALD will have a booth at the Involvment Fair and it is our first Nursing Home Visit of the semester.

Nursing Home Visits are cornerstone service events for UConn ALD. This semester, visits will be on Wednesdays from 6:00-7:00pm on dates TBA. During these trips, interested volunteers can come to the Mansfield Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation and hang out with the residents for about an hour. We participate in different scheduled events. Often we play board or card games. Spa night, ice cream socials, and baking are some of the other themes. They are really a great opportunity to give back to the community, and the residents love having college students visit them. If you are interested in participating in a future visit, keep on the lookout for dates and emails about sign-up, as they fill quickly.

More details about committees to come...so stay tuned

Festival on the Green

The 6th Annual Festival on the Green! will be held on Sunday, September 13th from noon to 5pm behind the Storrs Center commerical plazas.

Don't miss the kick-off event, the Celebrate Mansfield Parade which begins at 12. The parade will run along Storrs Road between Route 275 and Dog Lane.

Plus, there will be performances from local bands (including the headliner, James Montgomery Band), food from local restaurants and vedors, an art show, cooking demonstrations, petting zoo, and more.

The festival is a low-waste event. Not only do all food vendors use compostable cups, bowls, plates, etc., but the "plastic" material used to produce these items is actually corn. The goal of the festival is to divert 90% of the waste generated at the event from the Town of Mansfield's trash incinerator. Bins for recyclables, compostables, trash, and returnable bottles helps with this goal.

Want to be a part of the action? Volunteers are needed for:

• Set-up (9:00-12:00)
• Parade traffic control (11:00-12:30)
• Puppets in the Parade (Time TBD)
• Clean-up (5:00-6:30)
  

If you are interested in volunteering, contact the Mansfield Downtown Partnership at 429-2740 or mdp@mansfieldct.org

Gearing up for Fall

Hello ALDers!

Welcome to the new Alpha Lambda Delta blog. This will be a space for us to post about events going on around campus, cool things you should check out, ways to get involved, and more. We will be updating it often, so keep checking back to read about all things ALD and UConn.

Even though it is summer, lots of exciting things have been going on for ALD. First, as you may have heard, we are having a photo contest. Entitled ALD Across the World: A Photo Contest, we are asking you to take photos of yourself and your friends and family at all of the exciting vacation spots you visit this summer. You do that anyway, right? The only stipulation is that the ALD logo is present in the picture. Whether this is on a t-shirt, sweatshirt, coffee mug, or even a print-out creatively displayed, we are looking for interesting compositions and displays of the logo. Submissions are accepted until September 1st, so there is plenty of time to enter!

Some more very exciting news: ALD member Leah Goldberg has been chosen as one of 35 recipients of the Jo Anne Trow National Scholarship from National ALD. Leah is a rising Junior in the School of Nursing. Selection for the scholarship is based on academic record, participation in Alpha Lambda Delta activities, applicants' statements, and campus and community activities. We are all very proud of Leah!

Everyone at the University is gearing up for fall and for the return of the students, and ALD is no exception. Our first general member meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 8th. There will be lots of opportunities to get involved this year, so stay tuned...