Just about everyone knows that the Keene Pumpkin Festival has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for the tenth year. Each year at Halloween, record numbers of carved and glowing pumpkins are displayed on a tower for all to see. Last year, nearly 40,000 people came to see 23,727 works of pumpkin art light up the autumn night. But did they know that twenty Franklin Pierce students and their staff members joined volunteers from the Keene Kiwanis Club to pick 7,000 pumpkins in Bradford, Vermont? And did they know that those pumpkins were delivered to area school children so that they could participate in the festival? And did they notice the 515 pumpkins that were carved by the Franklin Pierce community and then driven to Keene to be part of the display?

In a survey completed by Franklin Pierce students during the Service Recognition Week 2001, students reported giving more than 6,700 hours of community service to local towns, schools and organizations. And since the survey was completed by only a fraction of students involved in community activities, it also represents a fraction of the contributions they have made. Some reports could double the number of hours logged by students working in the community.

The Community Service Program at Franklin Pierce is now in its ninth year and drawing record numbers of participants who are eager to contribute their time and talents to the local community. And for the ninth year in a row, Community Service Coordinator, Marabeth Farmer, has been matching up students and local organizations in what is a most rewarding exchange for both.

The program came about after Farmer merged her efforts to get her own students involved in the local community with the College's Community Service Club. The Community Service Program supports Franklin Pierce's innovative Individual and Community curriculum, where all freshmen are asked to donate up to ten hours of their time to community projects in their first semester.

"Everything students do is in partnership with an organization in the local community," said Farmer. "Students give their time and in return they receive supervision and training. They learn commitment and responsibility which are important qualities for any member of society," she continued. "My role is nurturer and coach, I teach the ethic of community service."

One of the original programs that came out of the Community Service Program matches up students at the Jaffrey-Rindge Middle School with a "Pierce Pal". According to Farmer, there are ninety Pierce Pals currently working with students from the school. Although there is some mentoring and roll modeling that takes place, Pierce Pals are simply encouraged to develop a friendship with their student. The program is self-selective, explains Farmer. Students at Jaffrey-Rindge just express an interest in having a Pierce Pal and the Guidance Counselor at the school makes the assignment. "You can change a life in an hour and fifteen minutes each week," said Farmer. Pierce Pals often stay in contact with their students outside of their school time; they use email, write to each other over the holidays, some have even become extended members of the family, and many have had the same Pierce Pal for three or four years.

Farmer believes the Community Service Program at Franklin Pierce is unique. "There are other mentoring programs at other schools," she said, "but at Franklin Pierce, our program is built entirely on creating meaningful relationships."

The success at Jaffrey-Rindge Middle School has launched a similar program at the Boynton Middle School in New Ipswich. Boynton Buddies was developed to help students who were very capable but having temporary difficulty in school. The issues students might be dealing with could range from health problems to family concerns. Students from Boynton have come to the Franklin Pierce campus to attend cultural events, and have even received certificates for attending classes for a day. "I'm not a big fan of one shot deals," said Farmer. "I really believe that an on-going relationship between our students and their younger counterparts is necessary to have an impact. That's where we make a difference."

The list of organizations using students from the Franklin Pierce Community Service Program numbers around twenty-five. They include the AIDS Services for the Monadnock Region (Keene), Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center (Greenfield), Horse Power (Temple), Monadnock Community Hospital (Peterborough), Rindge Food Pantry (Franklin Pierce students contributed 2,276 pounds of food last year), and the Marlborough School (Marlborough). 

Each year, Farmer and her students organize the Annual Community Service Fair where representatives from twenty to twenty-five schools and organizations in the Monadnock Region recruit Franklin Pierce students to assist in their activities. Farmer says between 300 and 400 students attend the fair. Not surprising when students have repeatedly rated their community service project among the top five most meaningful experiences at college.