On Friday, April 22nd, the Honors Program and Commuters on the Go hosted the first annual “Jungle Jam!,” an Earth Day celebration which aimed to raise awareness about endangered species while also collecting donations to purchase rainforest acreage. Any collected donations went to the Earth’s Birthday Project, an organization that encourages students to take an active role in protecting the environment. Every $50 donated helped to purchase an acre of rainforest in Peru.
The event was held in C/D Atrium from 9am to 3pm. There were fun games, hula hoops, rainforest facts, and more for people to enjoy, or just as a way to de-stress as finals draw near. A few people stopped to play the games, but many donated as they walked by on their way to class.
Jungle Jam was the first major service project I created here at Stockton. I had been considering it since the fall semester, and was really excited that my service co-director and the Commuters on the Go wanted to jump on board and help out. It took an immense amount of planning, as well as help from the Honors Program’s more artistic members, but finally it all came together! We raised $108.29! I was so excited! I had no idea how the event would go, given that this was its first year. It was great to see that other students on campus care as much about the rainforest as we do!
Hopefully we’ll be able to hold Jungle Jam! again next year, and raise even more money. I would love for it to blossom into a really large event so we can protect even more animals and their habitats!