Get involved with Volunteer Services

By Katie Manion
Cardinal Staff

Volunteer Services provides numerous opportunities for Saint Mary’s University students to get involved in the community.
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Volunteer Services is made up of 14 mentors, each responsible for offering a volunteer opportunity each month. This system provides students with frequent and numerous volunteer options. Some of the regular events include helping the Catholic Worker House with dinner every other Tuesday, babysitting for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) every other Wednesday morning and handing out food samples and recipes at the food shelf to MAC (Mothers and Children) and NAPS (Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients on the first Wednesday of every month.

There are three larger events each year: Make a Difference Day in the fall, Spruce up Winona in the spring and Big Gifts for Winona during the months of Oct., Nov. and Dec. In addition, a trip to New York has been planned for this Thanksgiving break, and a trip to the San Miguel school in the Twin Cities is scheduled for the first week in December.

There are seemingly endless opportunities for SMU students to volunteer. Student Activities and Volunteer Services Director Katie LaPlant says, “no matter what you want to do, we can find something that you like doing that you can volunteer to help with.” Though many of the events only allow for a limited number of volunteers, anywhere from three to approximately 15 (not including Make a Difference Day), with multiple events happening weekly, LaPlant said, “there’s no reason why anybody on campus shouldn’t be volunteering.”

A weekly email is sent to SMU students detailing the week’s opportunities. If interested, students can either reply directly to that email or stop by Volunteer Services to sign up. Larger-scale events, such as the impending New York trip or the recent Make a Difference Day, are advertised on large posters placed around campus. LaPlant also encourages the mentors to make more connections around campus by “teaming up” with Resident Assistants, clubs and organizations.

LaPlant strongly emphasizes that SMU students are very much a part of the Winona community. Volunteer Services helps strengthen this connection.

“We’re trying to show (students) that (they are) at an age now where (they) need to be a responsible community member, and this is the greatest way to do that,” LaPlant said.

Along with a feeling of personal fulfillment and community, LaPlant stresses the other benefits of volunteering, namely the friendships. She said, “You make friendships with the people you volunteer with and with the people you volunteer for. ... It just makes you a more whole person.”