“To inspire and mobilize people to strengthen communities through learning, scholarship and advocacy” is the mission statement of the Bennion Center.
Established by former University of Utah President Chase Peterson and dedicated to Lowell Bennion, the center hosts and organizes projects to help the Salt Lake community. Saturday Service Projects are one of these programs and it gives students the opportunity to participate in a one-day community engagement event to provide volunteer services to local communities.
Brett Gaffney, the community events program manager at the Bennion Center, said the Saturday Service is the largest project they have throughout the year.
“We shoot for about 500 to 600 volunteers for the day,” Gaffney said. “And a number’s just a number, right? But when you actually see everybody come together and then you hear their stories and you see the results of these projects, it really makes you feel like we can do whatever we put our minds to.”
Skyler Rudd, a student leader at the Bennion Center, spoke about his first time being a site leader for Spring Into Service, one of the Saturday Service Projects for the Bennion Center.
“I’ve really been driven to help my community out, and with the Bennion Center, they are always putting on activities and service projects to help people who are more disadvantaged,” Rudd said. “It’s still really connected to what I’m doing, like with the Saturday Service projects, I get to help people and still be integrated into my community.”
Earth Month, a month-long event from the Sustainability Office at the University of Utah, is the biggest partnership between the office and the Bennion Center. Spring Into Service is a part of this celebration and was dedicated to make positive change in the local community.
“We’ve made Spring Into Service a part of the Earth Month series of events. Our focus on Earth Month has really been great because we’re able to encourage folks to go to all the other Earth Month events and make it more of a collaborative experience,” Gaffney said. “I love collaborating with other campus partners. I think that what what makes our relationships really strong is when we’re all working together on different event.”
Listening and collaborating is a vital core of providing aid to communities. Gaffney explained how this notion applied to the Bennion Center and other volunteer services.
“We like to really focus on letting our community tell us what they need as opposed to us assuming what they need,” Gaffney said. “An email is great, but I want to make sure that I’m meeting with these partners and I’m getting to know them. It’s just about finding what’s right for each organization that wants to partner with us. We’re looking for each other and I think that mirrors the reciprocal relationships that we form with them.”
Participating in community services not only benefits the local population but also gives perspectives for individuals. Experience as a site leader or general volunteer goes hand in hand with learning about other communities and gaining insight into how individuals can impact their own community.
“They realize that they’re part of something bigger than themselves,” Gaffney said. “Whether that’s their community or a cause that they’re passionate about. I think that we can get, especially in college, blinded by your focus, your major, your classes. And I think that these events help them step into something bigger than themselves and work with people that they may not otherwise have worked with.”
