This weekend, University students will have the chance to offer their services to some of the most “needed” organizations in Eugene, ASUO Outreach Director Gabe Sitowski said.
All day Saturday, the ASUO and the Community Internship Program are sponsoring a “community service day,” during which student volunteers can lend their hands to Womenspace, Food for Lane County, St. Vincent de Paul, the YMCA and the First Place Family Center.
ASUO and CIP leaders are encouraging students to sign up for one of the several volunteer time slots throughout the day. Most shifts begin at 9 a.m. and last two to three hours.
“Volunteering is definitely something everyone should do,” said Alex Dietrich, events coordinator for the CIP. “It helps complete the person.”
And, Sitowski added, volunteer experience can also give students an advantage when applying for a job or an internship.
Depending on the organization, students will be involved with a variety of service projects, Sitowski said.
Those who sign up at Food for Lane County will work in the organization’s community garden. At Womenspace, an organization offering services to women who are victims of domestic violence, volunteers will help the group move into a new office.
Jacqui Lomont, director of development for Womenspace, said the group is fortunate the service day coincided with its moving date.
“We’re very pleased to have this kind of assistance,” she said.
Volunteers with St. Vincent de Paul will do gardening work at one of the organization’s housing projects, and at the YMCA, students will assist with the organization’s 150th anniversary celebration.
At the First Place Family Center, which offers services to homeless or low-income families with children, students will give the center a fresh look with an all-day spring cleaning project.
Tim Rockwell, assistant director for the center, said volunteers offer valuable assistance to the organization. He added that because the center has limited funding, there are not enough staff members to do all the cleaning and maintenance work that is needed.
“Without the volunteers, there’s a lot of things that wouldn’t get done around here,” he said.
While the ASUO has sponsored community service projects in the past, Sitowski said Saturday’s event, combining the ASUO’s efforts with those of CIP, is a first for the University — and it is one he would like to see expanded in the future.
“Hopefully, this event will grow and grow, and get bigger every year,” he said.