Marley Rehm ’25

Staff Writer

1,500 volunteers. One City. One Day. This is Working for Worcester. Founded in the fall of 2012 by Jeff Repucci ‘14 and Derek Kump ‘14, Working for Worcester acts as a bridge between the campus gates and the heart of Worcester. Reppucci and Kump visited many recreational spaces, such as playgrounds and schools, to find sites where their vision could be brought to life. The vision of Working for Worcester began small with personal connections and community relationships fostered by Reppucci and Kump but quickly expanded into a city-wide mission to serve the community of Worcester. What began as an initial idea within the confines of their dorm rooms, transformed into a powerful movement “to give back to the kids” through volunteerism that affects both the Holy Cross community and the greater Worcester area alike.

Working for Worcester is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization entirely run by college students dedicated to mobilizing Worcester students to improve recreational infrastructure and opportunities within neighborhoods across Worcester, Massachusetts. This is the eleventh year, and so far, there have been two million dollars put back into the city of Worcester via playgrounds, S.T.E.A.M. rooms, Sensory Classrooms, beautification, and much more. 

The outreach of Working for Worcester has grown to be like family and recognizes the importance of the Holy Cross community as the founding location of the growing organization. 

The day was April 20th, 2013, the first annual build day, and close to 540 volunteers across 12 community recreation sites showed up in support of the kids of the city. The years continued and with it came the addition of many sites and over 1.2 million dollars invested back into the city of Worcester’s recreational infrastructure. No one could have predicted the challenge of overcoming COVID-19, yet Working for Worcester continued to prevail and raise money for the emergency response fund. With life beginning to return to a sense of normalcy, in 2021 Build Day 9, was faced with overcoming the evolving pandemic and managed to continue to build playgrounds. With smiles on full display the next year, W4W celebrated the 10th annual build day and the first “normal” rally for the first time in almost 3 years. Year 10 proved to be the beginning of the Working for Worcester community coming together and continuing to mobilize from corporations to college students towards a citywide service day. 

The year marks the 11th annual Build Day and is taking place on April 22, nearly 12 years after Working for Worcester was founded. Working for Worcester would not have become the impactful organization it is today without the help of the community’s support. With Build Day right around the corner, the excitement and support continue to grow for the beloved community. 1,500 volunteers. One City. One Day. This is Working for Worcester.

Featured image courtesy of Marley Rehm ’25 W4W Management Team