Students had the opportunity to give back to the community at the Big Day of Service event on NE Campus.
Students came together to volunteer at different places in the community on April 26. The event used to be held annually before the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was important to staff and students alike to bring the event back.
“It’s important to give back to the community,” Cara Walker, who works for student development services, said. “I hope [students] will take away how gratifying it can be to give to others.”
The volunteers met in early morning, where they broke into two working groups. One group volunteered at the Tarrant County Food Pantry, and the other volunteered at the Hurst Animal Shelter.
NE student Marco Alvarez said he did not know what to expect when attending this volunteer job, and it was his first time at the food pantry. He thought it would be completely different.
“I imagined it like how you see in a movie, like a kitchen,” Alvarez said. “But no, it was a big … warehouse with a lobby and everything.”
The students at the food pantry were packaging potatoes for around three hours but had fun while doing it. Alvarez said there was a feeling of camaraderie between all the students.
“They had music playing, [and] people were singing and dancing. There was a whole lot of teamwork,” Alvarez said.
The other volunteer group that attended the animal shelter also found synergy and teamwork at their job. These students took care of puppies and a kitten, doing things like playing with them for exercise and giving them lots of needed attention. Some students went the extra mile and even tried training some of the puppies.
“I was teaching two puppies how to lay down, and they learned,” Rachel Tolle, a NE student who volunteered at the shelter, said.
The students also said a lot of the animals are up for adoption and urged their peers to reach out and give them a home. Some students were even requesting off of their weekend shifts at their jobs to be able to attend this event.
“I volunteer at almost every event that involves student activity,” NE student Isabella Bartram said. “I think it’s really amazing how many people actually [showed up.]” There were around 50 students that volunteered for this event, with many excited for the next one. “I wish there [were] more events like this,” Bartram said. “It was really amazing to be able to help.”
