Nearly 400 members of the MU community gathered to help locals at the annual day of service.
On Saturday, volunteers piled into Brewer Fieldhouse at MizzouRec to participate in MU’s largest student-run annual day of service: Caring for Columbia.
The event was relocated from Kuhlman Court due to inclement weather. Check-in started at 8 a.m. and Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe and MU senior Rachel Sacharin, executive director of Caring for Columbia, both gave speeches to the volunteers.
Michael Cunningham, Hannah Mentel and Grace Chicoine rake out a flower bed at the home of Roxanne McDaniel during their volunteer service on Saturday, April 15, 2023. (Photo/Erica Little)
Buffaloe thanked the nearly 400 volunteers for their service and encouraged them to meet new people as they served in the Columbia community.
According to Sacharin, Caring for Columbia started at the university in 2001 as a service program. Caring for Columbia is composed of six executive board members as well as a steering committee of 20 to 25 people.
MU students and Caring for Columbia volunteers Grace Chicoine and Lily Franck help move patio furniture at Roxanne McDaniel’s home, Saturday, April 15, 2023. (Photo/Erica Little)
“We bring together people from across campus,” Sacharin said. “[We] unite them under one cause of giving back and saying thank you to this community.”
Volunteers served at 26 businesses and 33 homes across town, helping with various tasks.
Students board buses outside the MU Rec Center in transit to their volunteer locations during Caring for Columbia, Saturday, April 15, 2023. Over 50 individuals and sites were served this year. (Photo/Erica Little)
Senior Gabriela Ionita and junior Alexa Magee volunteered at a resident’s home, helping them with gardening and yard work. As transfer students, Ionita and Magee joined the Caring for Columbia efforts to both get more involved and learn about the community.
“I’m an international student, so I’m learning about the people here,” Ionita said. “You can have a good connection with [them], or you can just help them in what they need.”
Mayor Barbara Buffaloe addresses the media during Caring for Columbia after giving a speech to students at the MU Rec Center, Saturday, April 15, 2023. “I always say like, love where you live and serve where you love,” Buffaloe told volunteers. (Photo/Erica Little)
Junior Noel Spatola is a member of the Caring for Columbia Steering Committee, the group responsible for planning for the event. Spatola serves on the projects committee, and reaches out to local community organizations and businesses to register them for the day of service.
“It’s really important to give back and to acknowledge all that the community has done for us and the safe space that they’ve created for us to work and live and study here,” Spatola said. “That’s what I think it’s all about.”
Caring for Columbia’s Student Director Rachel Sacharin speaks to about 400 students during its annual volunteer event on Saturday, April 15, 2023. Due to thunderstorms, the initial staging area was relocated from Kulhman Court to the MU Rec Center. (Photo/Erica Little)
Edited by Annie Goldman | agoldman@themaneater.com
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