SERVE gives students an opportunity to give back

Students Enhancing Resources for Vermillion Enrichment is just one of a handful of organizations at USD that aims to help students give back to the community they call home.

John Fanta has been working with SERVE USD for three years and said he continues to enjoy helping others in the community.

“I got involved as a sophomore. I started working with the recycling center, actually. I was part of the program the variations of volunteering,” Fanta said.  “A lot of people I knew were on the board and they just told me to give it a chance and maybe apply and so, I applied and I was vice president last year and this year, I became the president. Just kind of worked my way up in it and I really enjoyed the impacts you can make in it, it motivated me to keep going.”

Fanta said the organization has more than 200 volunteers and are always looking for more people. There are seven programs students can get involved in; Variations of Volunteering, Adopt a Grandparent, Big Pal, Little Pal, Bridges, Cultural Connections, Heroes and Adopt a School.

Variations of Volunteering is a program where students can apply to work with one of seven different non-profits in Vermillion, they have set hours that they volunteer each week.

Adopt a Grandparent pairs up college students with someone in the nursing home. Volunteers are expected to spend at least an hour with their grandparent each week.

Big Pal, Little Pal matches students with elementary school students to do an activity for at least an hour a week.

Fanta said Bridges is a newer program that was added to SERVE two years ago. The program gives students the opportunity to work with residents of SESDAC.

Cultural Connections pairs USD students with international students. The volunteers help international students become acclimated to the new culture.

Heroes is a program where USD students meet with middle school students once a month and plan an activity and and act as mentors for the students.

In the Adopt a School program volunteers are teachers aid at local elementary schools doing anything from grading papers to working with students.

Fanta said he thinks it’s important for students to give back to the community.

“Just giving back to the community,” Fanta said. “A lot of people think that college life is just they just drink and they party and they don’t really do a lot for the community but I think just being a volunteer can show that college students don’t have to be that taking away from the community but they can actually give back and we have a lot of students here so I think it can be a really powerful force for strength in the community.”