Lots of opportunities for volunteer-ready students are about to hit the Hill.

Make a Difference Week, October 14-23, is a nationally recognized week devoted to getting people involved in community service and other causes.

Advertisement

Molly Donnelly, a Bowling Green graduate assistant in the Leadership and Volunteerism department, is helping organize and promote a lot of the events throughout the week.

Donnelly, who just joined the department this year, said she hopes these opportunities will get students involved in volunteer work.

“People don’t think of college as being that service centered, and I think this week will reach out to a lot of students,” she said. “This helps people understand that there are things to get involved with.”

Donnelly’s department isn’t the only one getting involved. Many other groups on campus are organizing events for Make a Difference Week.

Kaylee Egerer, a junior from Rochester, Mich., and campus improvements chair for the Student Government Association, is helping organize Campus Clean-up on Oct. 19.

Although they have been putting on Campus Cleanup for a number of years, Egerer said SGA decided to collaborate with Make A Difference Week last year. She said Campus Clean-up, which consists of volunteers cleaning outside campus buildings, is a great way to improve campus’ image.

Other events throughout the week include Soles4Souls Shoe Drive, Relay for Life’s “Paint the Campus Purple,” United Way’s “Jail and Bail” and the Up ’til Dawn letter writing campaign.

Advertisement

Glasgow junior Lyndsey Crumpton is executive director for Up ’til Dawn’s letter writing campaign this year. She said she got involved with the event because her brother was a St. Jude patient after he was diagnosed with leukemia at age 3.

Crumpton said Up ’til Dawn is the largest student fundraising event on campus. Last year it raised more than $133,000. She said she hopes students will show up again this year.

“Help is always needed,” she said. “An act as simple as writing a letter can make such a difference. It’s just a small hour of your time.”

Egerer said this week is important because it gets students involved with WKU.

“Students should want to get involved,” she said. “We use the campus all the time, so this is a chance to give back.”