Applications extended for Make a Difference Day
From carving pumpkins with senior citizens to planting trees, each year hundreds of University of Idaho students sign up for Make a Difference Day.
The event allows students to join together to volunteer with various service projects in the Moscow community. The 14th annual Make a Difference Day will take place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, and the application deadline is Wednesday.
“We have a lot of community partners that want to be involved this year, so we want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to volunteer and we can get the most done that we can,” said Nichole Pagano, student outreach coordinator with UI’s Center for Volunteerism and Social Action.
Students who want to register to volunteer are required to complete a short application that includes personal information and various living groups or organizations they are a part of. Pagano said students provide the information so volunteers can work with other students from their fraternities, sororities, clubs or organizations. She said students are also encouraged to sign up alone, as the event is an opportunity to meet new people.
“Make a Difference Day is a day of service on campus that happens every year,” Pagano said. “It’s similar to the other service days like SYNC. Usually about 400 to 500 students volunteer, and we partner with organizations or businesses around the Palouse.”
Pagano said students banding together for philanthropy purposes is far from rare at UI. Starting with SYNC in late August, and continuing through the academic year, philanthropies like Paint the Palouse happen in the residence halls, and Greeks have several philanthropies throughout the year such as Kappa Alpha Theta’s Rock the Casa event. Pagano said there are constant opportunities for UI students to help the Moscow community.
For this year’s Make a Difference Day, students will check in at the Student Union Building Ballroom at 9 a.m. and get assigned to volunteer at locations as close as the Theophilus Tower lawn, to as far away as Lewiston, Pagano said.
“There’s a group going to the food bank to help distribute and package there, we have students here on campus that will be working to re-landscape over by the Tower area, and we have people working with Moscow charter school, helping them with miscellaneous stuff,” Pagano said.
The event is free to attend, and volunteers will receive free T-shirts and food for their service. However, she said students will need to provide their own transportation to the service sites via carpool.
Pagano said although Make a Difference Day is a one-day event, students are welcome to lend a helping hand throughout the year.
“Volunteering is important, because it makes you feel a part of something bigger than yourself,” Pagano said. “It definitely helps people realize how much bigger the world is and the impact you can make, even if it feels like you’re doing something small.”
Karter Krasselt can be reached at [email protected]