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.

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. 

“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.

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.” 

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.”

Edited by Annie Goldman | agoldman@themaneater.com 

Copy edited by Matt Guzman and Lauren Courtney