Chi Phi Fraternity: Epsilon Delta Chapter

Kelly Shibley, a junior at Oregon State University, joined her co-op roommates from Azalea House for the United Way Day of Caring last year, where she volunteered to clean out storm drains on the outskirts of campus.

“We didn’t do a whole lot” — not compared to this year, she said, as she struggled to pulled stubborn English ivy from the ground in the woods of Avery Park on Friday.

Shibley was part of a group of 18 who participated in the second annual United Way Day of Caring. Organizers said 806 students and community members volunteered at 75 different projects on OSU’s campus, Corvallis and Philomath.

Working three hours each, volunteers worked a combined total of 2,418 hours.

Twenty-five women from Azalea House joined Shibley this year, including a group who also volunteered to rip out ivy.

Steve McGettigan, volunteer coordinator from Corvallis Parks and Recreation, explained that the invasive ivy, officially classified as a noxious plant species in Oregon, quickly can spread and engulf an area, sometimes becoming so thick that it can girdle trees, eventually toppling them, and choking out native vegetation on which other species depend. The volunteers were to uproot the ivy to keep it from spreading.

“We really lower the chances of it resprouting in a given area,” McGettigan said to the group of 18.

McGettigan also helped student volunteers get started on a variety of other projects at Avery Park, including repairing and resurfacing trails, repairing fences, pruning trees and cleaning up litter.

Rae Brown, a freshman at OSU and one of Shibley’s housemates, recently moved to Corvallis from New York. She had never been to Avery Park before.

“I’m new to Oregon, so this is cool,” she said. “The whole atmosphere is really laid back.”

The United Way of Benton and Lincoln counties teamed up with OSU last year to recruit students to help local businesses and organizations work on volunteer projects, and received quite a number of first-year students. This year — at least in Avery Park — several returning OSU students joined the different projects.

Sophomore Nick Merkle joined about 30 members from the fraternity Chi Phi. He wore a walking boot to protect his broken foot.

“It’s not too bad at all,” he said.

While others pulled roots from the ground, Merkle took it easy while still being able to work by carrying piles of ivy to a nearby wheel barrow.

“Seems like an easy enough job,” he said.