This month, as part of National Volunteer Appreciation Week from April 27 through May 3, the Northern Michigan University Volunteer Center thanks Northern Michigan University student volunteers.
This year, more than 1,000 students were involved as volunteers in programs such as Superior Edge and the Student Leader Fellowship Program, which has a service requirement of at least 100 hours, with many more students volunteering inother ways. It is exciting to see NMU students everywhere, raking leaves, tutoring elementary students, building with Habitat for Humanity, chaperoning YMCA dances or donating blood. Many student organizations also commit to doing service projects as a group.
Throughout the year, service-oriented NMU students can be found coaching high school athletics, volunteering for hospitals and hospice, taking care of animals at the Marquette County Humane Society, working on environmental issues with many grassroots organizations and holding many other volunteer positions. These projects make a big difference to the community, as demonstrated when one local Marquette resident wrote, “your kindness and help will never be forgotten.”
During October the largest project of the year, “Make a Difference Day,” 990 students, and more than eighty student organizations raked lawns, washed windows, and helped the elderly and disabled of Marquette get ready for winter. The willingness of NMU students to wake up early on a Saturday to help the Marquette community is a true asset. One Marquette resident said, “Make a Difference Day—oh, what a difference it made to many people who for some reason cannot handle some of the difficult outside preparations for winter.”
Other highlights this year include winning second place in the Michigan Gift of Life Donor Registry University Challenge with 386 students and faculty registering. When it came to the holiday season and along with it the TV-6 Can-a-thon, NMU students, staff and faculty donated 1,480 pounds of food and $614.50 to local food pantries and charities. During the three on-campus blood drives held so far this year, more than 310 pints of blood were collected. In addition, students have signed up to become bone marrow donors, donated winter apparel to local charities during Winterfest, and some student organizations such as NMU Constructors and Chi Alpha traveled to the southern United States to help with natural disaster relief.
The Volunteer Coordinators of Marquette and the NMU Volunteer Center are working together to thank NMU and community volunteers on May 3, with an appreciation day and award ceremony at the Westwood Mall. A strong collaboration between the Volunteer Center and Volunteer Coordinators of Marquette County exists to connect NMU students with nonprofit volunteer opportunities. The Volunteer Coordinators of Marquette also are sponsors of the annual Make a Difference Day and support NMU service projects.
As this academic year winds down, you still will find student organizations and individuals volunteering. Upcoming service events where many Northern students will be involved include the March of Dimes March for Babies Walk (April 19), Spring Blood Drive (April 24) and the annual Spring Needs Drive (April 24 through May 2). This year, during Volunteer Appreciation Week, the Northern Michigan University Volunteer Center honors all student volunteers committed to bettering the community and creating social change, one volunteer project at a time.
—Nicole Weber