With the end of the COVID-19 pandemic supposedly approaching and restrictions being lifted, the amount of people that have started volunteering again in Utah has begun to increase, according to Deseret News.

During the pandemic, one study by Fidelity Charitable found that of the 81% of people who volunteered, every two in three volunteers ceased their contributions altogether.

According to Galaxy Digital, volunteering is very important for people, especially college students, to participate in, and the act of volunteering can help build leadership skills. At the University of Utah, the Bennion Center is the main source of volunteer and community engagement opportunities for students.

Many volunteer organizations shut down during the pandemic, but as quarantine regulations have become less prominent, the number of students at the U signing up to volunteer again has begun to increase, said Chris Wada, marketing and communications director of the Bennion Center.

“Our numbers have increased a pretty amazing percentage in terms of the number of volunteer interest forms submitted that we received over the same time period the year prior,” Wada said.

Wada said he thinks the isolation that COVID had created is causing people to want to engage with their community and give back to their community more after the pandemic.

“I think another thing that COVID created was kind of that loss of connection,” Wada said. “When I started at the Bennion Center in the fall of 2018, it was pre-COVID, and just the mere amount of time students spent around each other to build these relationships was much greater.”

While organizations were able to adjust to the pandemic and its restrictions, those who didn’t have other ways to engage with people during this time suffered the most when volunteer opportunities were shut down, said BobbiJo Kanter, associate director for co-curricular engagement at the Bennion Center.

“I do think the folks that were hit the hardest in terms of that isolation are those folks who are the most vulnerable to the community,” Kanter said. “We’re talking about people with disabilities, elderly folks, communities that maybe don’t have regular opportunities to engage.”

Kanter said now that more organizations are allowing volunteers again, he thinks it’s important that students get involved in order to engage with their community and find people with similar values. 

“Community engagement is always important, especially when you’re on a campus of 30,000 to 40,000 people,” Kanter said. “You can find your community and feel connected, whether that’s off campus at the Ronald McDonald House or the Youth Resource Center or at the Bennion Center with other people who are like-minded.”

The faculty of the Bennion Center help find ways to give back to the community, said Wada, while also helping to create a strong community open to any students who attend the U.

“We work really hard to connect students to community identity needs, different organizations, etc.,” Wada said. “Our primary audience is students and faculty, and just the ability to create a sense of belonging within the U of U student body is really important.”

There’s something for everyone at the Bennion Center, and there is no long-term commitment you have to make to be able to participate in volunteer opportunities offered, said Wada.

“The beauty of the Bennion Center is there’s something for everyone in terms of time commitment, interest type, and so on and so forth,” Wada said. “We are primarily known for where you go to find volunteer opportunities, which is 100% correct.”

For students who are looking for volunteer opportunities, the best place to find different ones is on the Bennion Center website, where you can register to volunteer for upcoming events and connect to faculty about volunteering.

Kanter encourages those who are interested in volunteering to take the time to visit the Bennion Center and learn more about what volunteer opportunities the U has to offer, even if they don’t want to commit to anything.

“Students are welcome to just stop by and visit, talk to other students, learn about the programs and use the University of Utah resources to get connected,” Kanter said. “We’re here for students. We’re happy to help.”

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