Volunteer organizations to recruit on campus

By Campbell Massie

Published Aug. 28, 2007

Help wanted.

The Voluntary Action Center and the University YMCA will play host to the 16 annual Celebration of Service Volunteer Fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wed., August 29 at Lowry Mall to try to get help for volunteer organizations.

There will be 57 community agencies represented at the fair, Voluntary Action Center executive director Cindy Mustard said. The goal of the fair is to allow students to make contact with the organizations.

The fair is a way to show a broader community beyond the campus, Mustard said.

By introducing students to different organizations that operate in Columbia, the fair helps in "bridging the town-and-gown gap," Mustard said referring to the divide between the community and the university.

Participating in service organizations in the community also gives students the chance to better explore their career paths, Mustard said. For example, education majors might put their skills to use by tutoring children, or those considering a healthcare-related field could volunteer at hospitals in order to try out their interests. Volunteering helps improve communication skills as well, she said.

Organizations that work within a college town such as Columbia enjoy the extra support that students can give them and the organizations are very dependent on MU students and faculty, she said.

The fair also allows students to give back to organizations they might have been a part of.

Volunteer groups such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, where students mentor young children one-to-one, thrive off of student support. Some groups involve actions as simple as visiting lonely senior citizens or listening to someone else's problems.

The VAC and The University YMCA worked together to create the Celebration of Service from both the community and campus perspective, respectively. The VAC helped to get in touch with all of the different organizations in Columbia, but the University YMCA took care of logistical concerns such as time and place, University YMCA Executive Director Julie Alexander said.

The fair acts as "an excellent opportunity to recruit students for these organizations," Alexander said. She said it is also a great opportunity to introduce students to a wide variety of organizations.