“I was disappointed in the number of students participating in the Service Saturdays and Make a Difference Day, so I was trying to think of a way to stimulate more volunteer interest in the Whitman community,” senior Kari Berkas said. “I wanted to create a large group of students who could be contacted when a volunteer opportunity came up.”

Berkas, who is one of the Center for Community Service’s (CCS) Interns and is the Special Projects Coordinator for the CCS, created the Volunteer Club, one of this year’s new clubs, with the help of CCS Director Lina Menard.

The Volunteer Club “is a way to create a listserv of students who have expressed interest in participating in various one-time volunteer opportunities throughout the semester. It is also a way to learn more about volunteer options, meet other students who share your interests and can volunteer with you, gain support from the CCS staff on starting your own projects and build your resume,” Berkas said in an e-mail.

I’m really excited that there is going to be a club specifically designated to bring together people who want to volunteer,” sophomore and Volunteer Club member Maia Hansen said. “Although this year I live in the Volunteer Co-op and it is really easy to hear about things going on, I know what it’s like to be out of the loop and not have an outlet to get involved.”

The Volunteer Club is aimed especially at students who are interested in volunteering in the local community but may not have time to do it on a weekly basis because students who are on the listserv will be alerted to various events throughout the semester.

The most recent Volunteer Club opportunity was on Sept. 23 at the United Way Family Fun Day, a carnival for Walla Walla families, where student volunteers helped run carnival activities.

“I helped with sack races, three legged races and the balloon tosses. It was wonderful spending time with kids and seeing families interact in such a real way and loving way,” Hansen said of her involvement in the event. “I even saw a woman whose house I worked on with Habitat for Humanity, and even though I already had so much respect for this woman who is raising a child by herself while attending nursing school, I felt like she shared some respect for me for being present and involved.”
The next activity is scheduled for the end of October at the Community Center for Youth.
For students interested in being part of the listserv, e-mail Berkas at [email protected].