AWOL’s Day of Service shorthanded

There were a total of 31 students who volunteered their time this President’s Day for AWOL’s Day of Service.

This Day of Service was initially planned for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but was rescheduled for President’s Day due to bad weather.

There were four different destinations this year: the USD Newman Center, the Yankton Homeless Center, the Yankton Boys and Girls Club and the Avera Sister James Care Center.

Some of the locations were left shorthanded.

Savannah Aanderud, a sophomore medical biology major who was the site leader for the USD Newman Center, said this Day of Service was a chance for people to serve their own community.

“AWOL – most people know it as traveling to different states, but this day is more just to give back to the community itself, like, right here in Vermillion or Yankton,” she said.

Maria Brady, a sophomore political science and history double major who helped at the Newman Center, said she wished more students would volunteer for things around campus like AWOL.

“I think it’s really unfortunate that USD is a suitcase college because even I went home this weekend,” she said. “But there’s plenty of opportunities to do things in Vermillion as opposed to just going out to the bars in the evenings.”