Volunteering made easy

Over 80 organizations will gather at the UMC fountain area for the Volunteer Fair Sept. 10, urging students to sign up and get involved.

“We want to make sure we have something for everybody,” said Anna Domenico, director of the Volunteer Resource Center.

From 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., students can find out how to get involved on campus, with local schools or even abroad. The fair is a part of Involvement Week at CU, which also includes a UCSU fair, an on-campus involvement fair and a Greek fair.

The I Have a Dream Foundation, Students for Peace and Justice, the Women’s Wilderness Institute, the Boulder Chamber Orchestra and Habitat for Humanity are just a few of the organizations to be represented on campus Thursday.

The Volunteer Resource Center will have its own tent set up this year to act as a resource for students that are less sure of where they want to get involved, said Domenico.

“Sometimes students get confused, so we help them to navigate through all of the organizations and to match a program for them,” Domenico said.

According to Domenico, the resource center tent will also be accepting applications for alternative breaks, which are student-run volunteer trips during academic breaks, as well as first-year interns for the office.

Domenico said that since the fair moved to the fountain area last year, she has every reason to expect a great turnout, provided that the weather cooperates.

“We did the fair at the fountain for the first time last year, and we saw an enormous increase in students stopping by,” Domenico said. “Up until last year, the organizations used to say, ‘I wish you could have had more students come,’ but now that’s not a problem.”

In addition to the fountain, Domenico said that other factors might be contributing to the recent boost in attendance.

“I think that a whole cultural shift is going on to get more involved,” Domenico. “Students are really thinking it out this year, [and] getting the word out more.”

Caroline John, a 20-year-old senior integrated physiology major, said that she would be at the fair on Thursday mostly for academic reasons.

“I volunteer at a hospital, because you have to have volunteer hours for getting into [physical therapy] school,” John said. “I will definitely have to check it out.”

Some students, however, still haven’t heard that the Volunteer Fair is taking place.

“I didn’t know that was going on this week,” said Mykah Norville, a senior psychology major.

He said he might pay it a visit, but it “depends on what’s there.”

“There’s not one special thing I’m looking for, so whatever strikes my interest,” Norville said.

Even though students tend to get motivated and excited when at the fair, Domenico said, ultimately the goal on Thursday is simply to get the information out.

“I don’t expect anyone to stop by the Peace Corps, and just sign up for it right then and there,” Domenico said.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Ana Romano at [email protected].