Columbus State University volunteers pitched in on Saturday, Aug. 23, to help 14 local nonprofit organizations during the university’s 18th annual Day of Service. More than 300 students, with help from faculty and staff, participated in the event—logging a collective 634 hours of local volunteer service.

“We believe in creating avenues for every one of our students at Columbus State to invest in our community as we help them become the next generation of servant leaders,” said President Stuart Rayfield. “Our annual Day of Service is just one of many ways our students make a difference through the Chattahoochee Valley by sharing their time and talents.”

Ansley Collins, a senior from Greeneville, Tennessee, majoring in health science, served with her softball teammates at PAWS Humane, where they socialized with dogs and cats and helped clean kennels.

“This is one of our favorite days [as a team] because we know we’re going to do some good in the community,” Collins said, noting she and the team frequently volunteer together in the area. “You just learn so much about the community [by volunteering] and that people do need help; it just helps you become a better person.”

At the National Infantry Museum, Donterrious Watts of Americus, Georgia, led the efforts of the ROTC Cougar Battalion to clean monuments in preparation for the museum’s Gold Star Family event. The experience benefits his leadership role as the battalion’s S-5 special projects officer and his studies in the master of organizational leadership program.

“We strive for excellence [in ROTC], and that includes excellence in leadership. As a [future Army] officer, we’re entrusted with leading others. You cannot lead unless you’re also willing to model service for others,” Watts explained.

He also said serving at the National Infantry Museum had a special significance for him and his fellow cadets.

“This is another way for us to understand the importance of our military history and to serve the soldiers who came and served before us,” he said.

Student-athletes from the Track & Field team joined the University Police Department for UPD’s ongoing partnership with Sleep in Heavenly Peace, whose international mission is building and delivering beds for children in need. Together, they cut, sanded and stained materials that will become beds for local children who don’t have a bed of their own.

“I’m new to Columbus, so I’m glad to be able to get out today and help the community,” said freshman and decathlete Sam Washburn of Auburn, Alabama, who is majoring in kinesiology. “I’ve already made some connections today and I’m looking forward to coming back and helping some more.”

“Not everything is about us; we need to go out and help others in need,” Washburn continued. Speaking of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, he pointed out that “we can get so comfortable in our own lives that we forget the struggles that others have. We may know families who will receive these beds but not really know they’re in that type of need.”

At $32.63 per hour—the current value of volunteer time in Georgia as determined by the nonprofit Independent Sector—Columbus State’s service equated to a single-day monetary impact of $20,687 on local nonprofit organizations. Volunteers served the youth and senior citizens, and completed organizing, cleaning, building and landscaping projects at organizations that included the American Red Cross; Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley; Boyz 2 Men Development Inc.; Chattahoochee Valley Libraries; Columbus Area Habitat for Humanity; Columbus Botanical Garden; The Columbus Museum; Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia; Girls Inc. of Columbus & Phenix-Russell; National Infantry Museum; The Oaks at Grove Park; Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center; PAWS Humane Society; Sleep in Heavenly Peace; and Turn Around Columbus.

The Day of Service event concludes the university’s signature two-week fall semester Cougar Kickoff that began with the First-Year Student Convocation on Aug. 8 and continued with campus events; information fairs focused on personal wellness, Greek Life, volunteerism and interfaith programs; College Night at the Clingstones; and whitewater rafting.