More than 100 students spent their Saturday volunteering this weekend.
The service event they participated in, hosted by the Bennion Center, kicked off the U’s week-long celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. The project has been ongoing for a few years and marks the beginning of the second half of the Bennion Center’s year of service, the first part beginning with Homecoming Week in the fall.
At Saturday’s service project there were 10 sites to volunteer at and nine organizations involved, including the YCMA and Friends for Sight, an organization for visual impairment that taught students how to conduct eye pressure tests.
Carpools and transportation options were arranged by the Bennion Center to transport students to their chosen service sites where they spent the next three hours doing service projects.
Danielle Johnson, a senior in exercise and sport science, said it’s impactful to have a day of service at the U.
“Giving back to others is so important,” Johnson said. “It is nice to be able to get together with others and have fun while still doing something good. I think a lot of the time people think of service as being monotonous, but there are so many options to choose from, and it is nice to see the community come together to help others in need.”
Max Wood, a senior in architecture and a Bennion Center volunteer, said it is great that the service project and Martin Luther King Jr. weekend line up with one another.
“We are trying to live the legacy Martin Luther King Jr. lived,” Wood said. “MLK lived for improving the lives and conditions of those around him. Today we hope to try to carry on a little piece of that legacy by reaching out to our local community and lending a hand.”
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