USM’s second annual Day of Service will be held Friday, giving students the opportunity volunteer at over a dozen projects in the Greater Portland area.
The event begins Friday at 8 a.m. with registration and breakfast and wraps up Friday evening at 5 p.m.
The projects range from cleaning litter in the Back Cove, to volunteering at the Falmouth Food Pantry, to helping construct the obstacle course for USM’s upcoming Into The Mud Challenge.
Students can register for the Day of Service on the Office of Student Life website. Associate Director of Student Life Chris O’Connor said students are encouraged to register before Friday, but students can also register between 8 and 8:30 a.m. on Friday.
The first Day of Service, held in last April, was organized by O’Connor and Andrea McCall, director of community service. O’Connor said over 120 people participated in the inaugural event.
According to O’Connor, the Day of Service benefits the USM community as well as the people whom the projects serve. “The Day of Service introduces students to service, and it builds community,” he said. “You really form a unique bond with the other students you’re working with.”
Jill Santamore, a graduate student assistant in the Office of Student Life in Portland said they are expecting around 200 volunteers this year.
There will be a party for participants at Margarita’s in Portland starting at 8 p.m.