April 2024
This year marks the fourth annual KT Global service event, again spanning the entire month of April! Maryville College alumni, staff, faculty, students, families, and friends of the College are all invited to participate as we connect through service. KT Global was designed as an opportunity – across the world – for the MC Community to come together as one to serve an organization of their choice, from anywhere.
Watch this video to learn more about Kin Takahashi and KT Global.
2024 Projects
Maryville College alumni and friends from across the globe will participate in KT Global throughout the month of April and volunteer project planning is underway! Check out the tiles below to learn more about existing project and sign up to participate.
Have an idea for a project in your city? The Alumni Office and KT Global taskforce are ready to support you in planning a volunteer project for your family and friends, or for a group of alums in any city. Check out this list created by the KT Global taskforce of volunteer ideas that can be done on your own or with others. Then, email alumni@maryvillecollege.edu for assistance in project planning, adding your project to the website, contacting and recruiting alumni in your area, promoting your project, or to answer any other questions you may have.
Remote – MC Archives
Project Lead: Amy Lundell ’06, MC Archivist
Date: April (full month)
Help make the MC Archives more accessible! Volunteers will complete transcription and other digitizing tasks to ensure additional pieces of MC history are available for online research. No experience required. A computer and internet access required. Detailed instructions will be provided.
Remote – Scots Supplies Closet
Project Lead: MC Alumni Association Board
Date: April (full month)
Located in Bartlett Hall, the Scots Supplies Closet provides students free access to clothing, hygiene products, perishable and nonperishable food, and various other items at no cost. It is open year-round for students on campus to access. During the month of April, help stock the Closet by ordering items from the Amazon Wishlist or bringing donations to Bartlett 327.
Check back for link!
Remote – Happy Bags
Project Lead: Rachel Rushworth-Hollander ’08
Date: April (full month)
Anyone in the Blount County area can participate by packing gallon bags with items needed for Blount Family Promise. A good project for individuals or groups.
Maryville College – KT Weekend
Project Lead: MC Center for Community Engagement
Date: Saturday, April 13
9am – 12pm
Join with current students and fellow alumni to make a positive environmental impact on the campus, particularly the College Woods. Learn more and sign up at the link.
Maryville College – BCAA at KT Weekend
Project Lead: Blount County Alumni Association Board
Date: Saturday, April 13
9am – 12pm
Join with fellow Blount County alumni to clean up the MC Labyrinth, located at House in the Woods. The BCAA board and fellow alums will be clearing moss from the bricks and weeding as needed. At the link, select “Trail/Woods Cleanup” as first preference.
Maryville, TN – Habitat for Humanity
Project Lead: Rick Ziegler ’70
Date: Monday, April 22
8am – 12pm
Habitat for Humanity joins with families to build safe, affordable housing and volunteers will be participating with a community build along with members of the Maryville Rotary.
Alcoa, TN – DessertFest
Project Lead: Suzy Garner Booker, VP of Advancement
Date: Saturday, April 27
11am – 3pm
Supporting The Gate-Gateway to Independence, volunteers will greet guests, serve desserts and coffee, and complete other tasks to ensure a great event – celebrating 20 years! Event location is Alcoa High School.
Knoxville, TN – Random Acts of Flowers
Project Lead: Marcia Kilby Rethwilm ’89
Vase Collection: April 1-27
Event Date: Saturday, April 20
9:30am – 11:30am
For the second year, donate your unused vases and plastic containers to be used for floral deliveries to individuals in healthcare facilities. Help decorate plastic containers to help brighten someone’s day! Sign up for more info on both ways to participate.
Knoxville, TN – Beaumont Garden Day
Project Lead: Jennifer Phillips Triplett ’07
Date: Saturday, April 6
9am – 12pm
Join with parents and friends of Beaumont Magnet Academy near downtown Knoxville to help revitalize the landscaping around the historic school, in partnership with Keep Knoxville Beautiful. Projects will include shrub removal/planting, weeding, painting, and more. Lunch provided by KBB.
Chattanooga, TN – SkillsUSA Conference
Project Lead: Tammy Brown, MC Social Sciences
Date: April 15-17
Various Times
SkillsUSA offers local, state and national opportunities for students to learn and practice personal, workplace and technical skills. The TN state conference needs judges for various leadership, occupational, and skilled contests. Special expertise is not required of all judges. More details here.
Nashville, TN – Bell Garden
Project Lead: MCAA Nashville Chapter & Ellison Berryhill ’12
Date: Saturday, April 20
9am – 12pm
Spend a morning outside assisting with harvesting vegetables, weeding, and other gardening projects at the community led BELL Garden at the Bellevue Middle School campus. At the link, be sure to scroll to and select Saturday April 20.
Greensboro, NC – SkillsUSA Conference
Project Lead: Tammy Brown, MC Social Sciences
Date: April 22-24
Various Times
SkillsUSA offers local, state and national opportunities for students to learn and practice personal, workplace and technical skills. The NC state conference needs judges for various leadership, occupational, and skilled contests. Special expertise is not required of all judges. More details here.
New York City, New York – Good Shepherd Planting
Project Lead: Tri-State Scots Alumni Chapter
Date: Friday, April 30
Time: 5:30pm
Join the Tri-State Scots alumni chapter to plant flowers at Good Shepherd Services, located at 305 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. Good Shepherd supports children, youth, and families facing challenges by providing resources to build on their inherent strengths to thrive.
Magherafelt, Northern Ireland – Food Drive
Project Lead: Shauna McAtamney ’22
Food Drive: April 1-26
Delivery: Saturday, April 27
Shauna is challenging family, friends, co-workers, and fellow alums to collect items for Magherafelt Foodbank throughout April. Urgent needs include tinned fruit and meat, coffee, tea, UHT milk and shelf-stable fruit juice.
Tokyo, Japan – Oshitate Parks
Project Lead: Hidenori (Hayata) Akashi ’86
Date: Sunday, April 21
10am – 12pm
Clean up litter at two local parks in the greater Tokyo area: Oshitate Nakabori Park (meeting place) and Oshitate 2nd Park. All trash and recyclables will be sorted and disposed of per city ordinance. Nearest station is Keio Line Tobitakyu Station for traveling to the parks (paid parking lot also nearby).
Check out where in the world KT Global is happening:
Read more about each project by clicking the pins on the map! Contact the KT Global Taskforce to add your own pin to the map.
Who is Kin Takahashi and why is KT Global relevant to Maryville College?
Kin Takahashi was a Maryville College student from Japan in the 1890s. He is legendary among the MC community for his “can-do” spirit as he founded the College’s first football team (bringing the sport of football to East Tennessee) and led a project to build Bartlett Hall as a student center and first YMCA on a college campus. Kin Takahashi has created a legacy of service inspiring MC students, faculty, staff, and alumni to seek similar service opportunities to benefit their alma mater and communities such as KT Days, KT WeekEND, and now KT Global.
KT Global 2023
Throughout the month of April 2023, 360 volunteers participated in MC’s largest service event yet. Volunteers completed 42 projects in six countries. Read all about the projects and see event photos on the KT Global 2023 Wrap Up page.
KT Global 2022
On Sat., April 19, 2022, 316 volunteers participated in Maryville College’s second annual day of service by engaging in 34 projects in 23 cities around the USA, Japan, and Slovakia. Read all about the projects completed and see event photos on the KT Global 2022 Wrap Up page.
KT Global 2021
On Sat., April 17, 2021, 239 volunteers participated in Maryville College’s inaugural day of service by engaging in 38 projects in 26 cities around the USA and in Japan. Read all about the projects completed and see event photos on the KT Global 2021 Wrap Up page.
KT Global has many benefits to Maryville College including:
- Expanding MC branding and name recognition around the world;
- Increasing overall alumni engagement with the College;
- Connecting with alumni who live far from campus and find it difficult to participate in College events;
- Connecting with young alumni;
- Connecting with alumni who have been inactive since graduating;
- Engaging decades of students and alumni;
- Forming new alumni coalitions, groups, friendships, and chapters; and
- Fostering MC alumni relationships with local community organizations.