A hard hat, a shovel, a soup bowl, a deck of cards and a joystick are a handful of items needed for this year's Month of Service, where students have different ways to volunteer all month long.
Activities began Sunday afternoon, as students helped in the reconstruction and landscaping of homes in Kinlock, Mo. Students painted, did carpentry work and planted trees for the Faith Beyond Walls Reconstruction Project.
Rob Budach, student services coordinator for Student Life, called the staff at Kinlock unique in terms of doing service projects.
"They're very energized. It's not a 'come here, here's a shovel, start digging' type of thing," Budach said.
Volunteer opportunities continue Wednesday with a blood drive held in the Century Rooms from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The blood drive is the first of four Red and Gold events, where student organizations will compete in an attendance competition. At the end of the month, the student group with the most overall attendance at the Red and Gold events will win $500 toward its budget.
On Thursday, students have another opportunity to wear construction hats by helping build homes in the Habitat for Humanity project. Buses will take students to and from Hillsdale, Mo. between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. This marks the second Red and Gold event.
On Nov. 14 and 15, the Catholic Newman Center will hold soup lines in the Nosh, where students can buy a bowl of soup for $2. All proceeds go to anti-hunger organizations.
A hunger banquet simulation will be held on Nov. 16 at 12:30 p.m. in the Pilot House. "The group of students who come to that will be divided into a real world representation of hunger levels in the world," Budach said. "A portion of them will receive a lush meal, a portion of them will get a bowl of rice and a great deal of them will probably get nothing."
The Catholic Newman Center, which provides volunteer opportunities to work for Habitat for Humanity throughout the year, is in charge of the hunger simulation. The Newman Center is working with Oxfam America, an organization that tries to eradicate hunger and poverty. Oxfam will provide the script for the hunger simulation.
The last two events are Red and Gold events. A Texas Hold'Em tournament will be held in the Pilot House Nov. 17 at 7 p.m., and a 36-hour game-a-thon will be held in the Pilot House starting Nov. 18 at 8 a.m. Students can challenge each other in video games, "but otherwise, just play 'til you drop," Budach said.
Certain activities are new this year to the Month of Service.
"Every year we like to expand it," Budach said. Student Life is planning another Month of Service for the spring. "We want to move away from just having one month of service and having always service," he said.
Budach said a plus to volunteering was that certain graduate school applications look for service work, which demonstrates initiative and leadership.
"Going to Habitat for Humanity and building a house, it's more of self-motivating initiative," Budach said.
Campus Minister Tracy Van de Riet explained that once students experience service, it motivates them. "You get your first taste, and it feels gratifying. It makes you want to continue," she said.
Budach said, "When you find a way to make a connection with the people you are helping or the work you're doing … it really becomes meaningful."
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