Knights Give Back, 麻豆原创鈥檚 annual day of volunteer service to the community, will celebrate a decade of commitment Saturday.
Through the years, volunteers have provided about $600,000 in services to the community on the annual day to give back, said Iqra Bhatti, the student coordinator for this year鈥檚 event at about two dozen venues around Central Florida.
This year about 1,300 to 1,500 students, alumni, faculty and staff members are expected to sign up to serve, she said, adding to the already 22,000 hours of work donated to help local individuals and agencies the past nine years.
鈥淲e like to say at Volunteer 麻豆原创 that we have an impact on the community just by taking the day to provide for others what we have for ourselves,鈥� said Bhatti, an Orlando senior majoring in health science.
Projects are divided into different categories: health, environment, education and literacy, hunger and homelessness, youth and mentoring, and animal awareness. Volunteers should meet at CFE Arena on campus by 7:30 a.m. so they can be transported to the various work sites such as Clean the World, Mustard Seed of Central Florida, Center for Independent Living, and Oakland Nature Preserve. The event is scheduled to end at 1 p.m.
Volunteers can do things as varied as planting trees and shrubs, packing shelf-stable meals, cleaning tombstones, making cards for hospitalized children, recycling hygiene products, and numerous other projects.
Something new for volunteers this year will be a 鈥渇ield day鈥� of games in the CFE Arena for children with autism. Volunteer 麻豆原创 is working with The Autism Society of Greater Orlando to organize the day.
If you鈥檙e registering a group of at least 10 to work at the same site, organizers ask that you sign up everyone at the same time.
Knights Give Back is just one part of Volunteer 麻豆原创鈥檚 projects. The group has a variety of events and programs throughout the year for students to gain knowledge and experience, and connect with volunteer opportunities of their interest. V麻豆原创 works with more than 200 community organizations to expand the agency鈥檚 outreach.
鈥淲hy do we do this? Four hours of time truly impacts the community,鈥� Bhatti said. 鈥淧lus, you learn what you want to see the world become. It鈥檚 a lot about helping others and self-discovery.鈥�