The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) offers students the opportunity to volunteer. Friday, Oct. 4 was United Way’s Day of Action at UIS. Nationally, volunteers including students, companies, and non-profits come together to serve their communities for the day. This is just one of many opportunities students have to volunteer at UIS through the Volunteer and Civic Engagement Office.
Assistant Director of the Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center, Connie Komnick, shares that “The Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center offers a diverse range of volunteer opportunities to meet the needs and interests of students.”
The Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center focuses on providing service in the areas of public health, sustainability, civic engagement, youth education, and hunger.
For students who may not have time to get involved in longer term projects, Komnick states, “The Center provides single volunteer opportunities with local non-profits. These one-time engagements allow students to contribute meaningfully to the community without a long-term commitment.”
Komnick shares that the Center also has an array of larger scale projects, “For those seeking a deeper involvement, extended service opportunities are available, such as the Prairie Stars Service Trip. This initiative offers students the chance to engage in impactful service for a week outside of Illinois while fostering camaraderie and teamwork.”
The next opportunity to volunteer at UIS is Trick or Treat for Canned Goods. Students, faculty, and staff form teams and canvas a neighborhood with fliers and door hangers. On Oct. 27 the teams return to the neighborhood to collect canned goods for the Central Illinois Foodbank. The Office of Volunteer and Civic Engagement representatives said they “collected over 6 thousand pounds of food in 2023.”
There are many diverse volunteer opportunities to help get UIS students more involved with the wider Springfield community. The university partners with community organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sistersand Springfield School District 186 to offer college students opportunities to serve.
Students have the opportunity to volunteer in blood drives, community gardening, voter registration, youth mentorship, assisting the UIS Cares pantry, and other various service projects.
Recent hurricanes are a reminder that disaster relief volunteering is important as well. UIS even has a chapter of the American Red Cross that assists in this area.
In addition to helping the community, there are benefits to college students volunteering. Rasmussen University points out that volunteering can help students gain relevant work experience.
Volunteerism expands a person’s perspective. Helping those in need can give a different point of view. Helping others also helps our own health. Physical movement in addition to the mental health feel-good benefits of volunteerism are rewarding. This has been linked to a reduced mortality risk by 24 percent.
Further information on volunteering at UIS can be found at the Volunteer and Civic Engagement Office.
