Project Serve, a well-loved student-community engagement event, is back for its 27th year, that will see hundreds of University of Guelph students volunteer their time to make an impact in the region.
"Our students bring such great energy. They're excited and want to do so much while they're out volunteering their time," says Helen Keen, local engagement coordinator for the Experiential Learning Hub. "In Guelph in general - and specifically here at U of G - we have such a deep sense of community and volunteerism."
Volunteers at Project Serve
Project Serve enriching student experience
This year's biggest Project Serve is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 14, with monthly Project Serve events planned throughout the year. Participating volunteers will be assigned to a local organization and spend three hours giving their time to help complete projects.
This year, student volunteers will lend a hand to more than 20 local organizations, including the Guelph Food Bank, Community Living and Guelph Little Theatre.
"We always receive such warm messages from our partner organizations after our Project Serve events," Keen says. "It really helps bridge the relationship between the University and the community as a whole to see our students out there and having an interest in what's going on in the world around them."
Okoroike Ozoemena, a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry, first volunteered with Project Serve in 2023. After learning from other volunteer leaders, he's returning in 2024 in a leadership role to guide others through the Project Serve experience.
"Getting out in the community and meeting other people has really enriched my experience here in Guelph," he says. "It doesn't matter where you're from, you are all treated as a family here. It's very encouraging."
Ozoemena has volunteered with several organizations, including the Guelph and District Multicultural Festival, Stepping Stone and the Art Gallery of Guelph. He encourages any students considering signing up for Project Serve this year to take the leap.
"When you make the time to volunteer, there's an enormous happiness that comes with it. Others who come and volunteer will get to feel that same sense of happiness."
Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie, Okoroike Ozoemena and other Project Serve volunteers
Building community connections in Guelph
According to the U of G Economic Impact Report, 34 per cent of students engage in community service, contributing more than 1.5 million service hours each year.
Creating lasting connections between students and the wider Guelph community is not solely achieved through volunteerism. More than 250 students and community members recently came together to celebrate the start of a new school year through a Meet Your Neighbours event at Kortright Plaza.
Off-campus students were able to connect with University resources, meet neighbours and learn more about where they'll be spending the next few years. Community partners, including the Guelph Police Service, Guelph-Wellington Paramedic Service and Bylaw shared safety tips and information on how to be a good neighbour.
Fundraising for the United Way
U of G is also continuing its partnership with the United Way as it has for more than 40 years, raising more than $13 million as one of the organization's top supporters, both in fundraising and community engagement. U of G has been recognized with a United Way Cornerstone Award for being one of the top four campaigns every year since the partnership began.
In the past five years alone, U of G students, faculty and staff have contributed more than $2.6 million to the United Way's community efforts. Fundraising events across campus include bake sales, a Halloween trivia lunch and a 50/50 raffle that will run for the duration of the campaign.
Donations from U of G support food security initiatives, housing supports, youth programming and community initiatives in Guelph, Wellington and Dufferin.
