PRESS RELEASE: NOVEMBER 21, 2025

Day of giving, community service at SJR State

Vikings Day of Service

St. Johns River State College partnered Friday with 25 local organizations in the College’s semiannual Vikings Day of Service. More than 150 employees and students from the Orange Park, Palatka and St. Augustine campuses volunteered to paint and repair, restock shelves, donate blood, and give a shelter full of animals a day of cuddles and care.

Service locations included Blessings in a Backpack; Habitat for Humanity Build; Feed the Need Putnam County; The Arc of Putnam County; the Clay Education Foundation; Matanzas Riverkeeper; Orange Park High School, South Woods Elementary School, Water Works Environmental Education Center, Way Free Medical Clinic, One Blood Drive, Life South Blood Drive, Putnam Parks & Recreation, Putnam Animal Control, Bread of Life Food Pantry, Palatka Christian Service Center, Marine Corps Toys for Tots of Putnam County, Council on Aging, Emergency Services & Homeless Coalition of St. Johns; 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 spring service day on Friday, March 13, 2026.
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 .

View additional photos from the Vikings Day of Service.