The History of Panther Service Day

In an effort to improve relations between students of Eastern Illinois University and the Charleston community, the 2003 Student body President, Allison Mormino organized a community service project. The project involved painting seven local residents' homes with the help of 150 plus students and donations from the community. The event was such a huge success that Ms. Mormino's successor continued the tradition by organizing another service-oriented project that was established as what is now known as EIU Panther Service Day. With their continued efforts, this time over 300 students participated.

On April 12, 2003, over 150 EIU students and community members came together to paint seven homes of Charleston residents that otherwise couldn't have accomplished the task. The project was modeled after the Bucket Brigade program created in Alton, IL by Dale Newdecker, a retired State Farm Insurance agent in 1988. In the first year of the project, volunteer teams painted 23 homes. Since then, the project has grown to over 50 volunteer teams and more than 800 homes painted in the River Bind communities.

Panther Service Day is built upon the premise that only through working together, can we accomplish anything worth doing. The goal of the project is to bring all groups of the Charleston community together to make our community a better place. the obvious benefits of the project will be a physically cleaner, more aesthetically pleasing city. More importantly, we will make Charleston a healthier, more vibrant community by working together to complete the task. The relationships formed through this project will last longer than any coat of paint.