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Opportunities abound to make this a summer of service
By Kristin Bishop
July 12, 2005 | Instead of spending
this summer sunbathing by the poolside or watching hours
of television, you could choose to fill your summer
with service and fun. The Val R. Christensen Service
Center is a wonderful asset to Utah State University
and offers countless opportunities for volunteer work
and service to citizens in need in our very own community.
The Val R. Christensen Service Center has been in
place since 1970 and is now one of the largest groups
on the USU campus. The Service Center's mission statement
is to "prepare students to make lifelong contributions
through service, to provide students with the opportunity
to serve, and to foster positive attitudes, personal
growth, and change, through service of the community
and environment." The Val R. Christensen center offers
over 20 programs for students and citizens to choose
from, offering them a great variety and a huge range
of activities in need of volunteers.
Some of the programs include: Best Buddies, College
Bound, Adopt-a-Grandparent, Hot Shots and Habitat for
Humanity. The Best Buddies program involves enhancing
the lives of Cache Valley citizens that have intellectual
disabilities. Each individual gets one-on-one time and
attention from a volunteer. This program is great for
both the disabled and the volunteer, offering both with
a friendship and growing experience.
The College Bound program was created to motivate young
children to attend college and strive for higher education.
This provides middle school age children with mentoring
and encouragement while creating beneficial friendships.
The Adopt-a-Grandparent program was designed to create
involvement with the elderly in the community. This
program provides students with a greater respect for
the elderly and their contributions while providing
the elders with monthly activities and regular, consistent
visitors.
The Hot Shots program provides students with the flexibility
of being informed of every service opportunity on and
around campus without making a regular commitment. Hot
Shots provides people with regular e-mail updates about
service and volunteer opportunities. The majority of
college students are too busy to commit to one specific
program, which makes Hot Shots the perfect program for
the over-scheduled individual.
Habitat for Humanity is another wonderful program that
seeks to provide the less fortunate with homes of their
own by gathering volunteers to build simple, decent,
affordable houses. This program is a great contributor
to Cache Valley and helps house thousands of people
each year.
The Val R. Christensen Service Center encourages everyone
to volunteer and become service-oriented this summer.
Serving others will better the lives of people around
you and at the same time offer leadership and self-improvement
techniques for you to grow from. Planning and participating
in service projects will fill your summer with fun,
while contributing greatly to the community. Visit the
Val R. Christensen website to learn more about becoming
a volunteer. The site also lists a number of various
programs that may better fit your personality.
It's not too late to make this summer memorable and
become an important tool in the life of someone in need.
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