Civic Passage Recruiting Volunteers for Community Projects
Contact: Lauren Wagner, 581-1796
The UMaine Bodwell Center for Services and Volunteerism’s Civic Passage program is recruiting students and university employees with a little free time and a desire to help others. Current volunteer project sites include the Maine Mental Health Association in Bangor, which needs some painting done in the afternoon on Sept. 15, and the Maine Audubon Society at Fields Pond in Holden, where they’ll help celebrate the return of the Sedgeunkedunk Stream to a more natural state, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 18.
The Bodwell Center posts volunteer opportunities on a weekly basis and continues recruitment efforts on campus. The program is designed to strengthen community mindedness and foster development in students participating in direct service opportunities. Research has shown that participation in community service activities while attending college has been linked to increases in students’ civic responsibility, academic performance and development of life skills, including critical thinking, interpersonal skills and leadership development.
Last year, 440 students contributed almost 1,300 hours helping more than two dozen organizations with civic or charitable missions ranging from food pantries to conservation activities. Lauren Wagner of the Bodwell Center is available at 581-1796 and can provide additional information.