Over the academic year, Winona State University students have completed over 960 hours of community service, creating an impact of more than $23,000 for the Winona community. Students looking for volunteer hours have many resources to do so throughout the city and on campus. This year, Winona State launched their new volunteer website, volunteer.winona.edu to create a space for organizations to post volunteer jobs and for students to sign up and track their hours. When students sign into the website, they can subscribe to organizations to get updates when certain jobs are posted. Communities such as Greek life and other student organizations can post opportunities to only their members or anyone.
“I have been building relationships with a lot of nonprofit leaders in the community” Rebecca Sims, assistant director of student activities, said. She has been working to promote the website to more agencies around the city of Winona, to build bridges between Winona State students and their community. Nonprofits include the Kashubian Cultural Institute & Polish Museum, the Winona Public Library, the Winona Humane Society and the Warming Center, all of which post jobs on the volunteer website and are always looking for student volunteers. The Warming Center is run in two different spots, a day center and an over-night center, and has regular positions to cook meals and spend time with visitors.
Another big opportunity for students to obtain community service hours is through the annual MLK day of service that takes place on campus. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, 114 Winona State Students showed up to cook for emergency responders and warming center spaces and deliver them.
“Students could click [into the website] and then easily register and find the opportunity that met their needs and their skills and their interests,” Sims said, “they get to get recipes from their moms and dads at home and cook some of their favorite things.”
Sims’ goal is to get students involved in the community and to help students build leadership skills. Nearly 500 students have created profiles on the volunteer website, and Sims encourages anyone looking to make a positive impact on the community to make use of resources around campus that can help them do so. As well as student activities, university committee Learning and Community Engagement, or LACE, works to increase community engagement through academic courses which can be especially helpful for nursing students or other majors that have service benchmarks.
Student groups around campus give students volunteering benefits. One club that focuses on community engagement and volunteering is the Circle K club. Circle K centers around pillars of service, leadership and fellowship, and works with a broad community of Kiwanis members, giving students who join numerous opportunities for community engagement.
“[Circle K] also gives you a structure,” Kael Jacobson, year one student and Public Relations manager for the club, said, “When you’re a part of the group, at our meetings, we tell you when volunteering opportunities are and we structure it, so it’s really easy for you to sign up for them.” Being a part of the club puts you first in line to hear about community service opportunities and gives you a broader network to work with and become a part of.
Volunteering has a massive impact on the community and helps nonprofit organizations stay running so that they can continue to serve those who need it. Winona State, nonprofit agencies and student organizations are all great sources for students to become involved. Sims said that an hour of volunteer work has about a $20 impact value on average, making community service a perfect way for students to make a difference on their campus and in their city.
