Volunteering with special-needs individuals is something sophomore Jen Forrest has always done.
At the eighth annual volunteer fair in the Pit on Wednesday, she signed up to help with the newly-formed Carolina Students for Special Olympics.
"I am able to connect with them," she said.
Forrest, whose 25-year-old brother is autistic, said that the kids she has worked with were very loving.
"When I was younger, I used to play the violin for them," she said.
Similar organizations were on hand to recruit students, a vital source of work for nonprofits in the community.
"This event is designed to get students engaged with community organizations," said Amy King, business manager for the Carolina Center for Public Service.
CCPS sponsored the fair along with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce and The Chapel Hill News.
"It's a good chance for our members to come out and recruit volunteers," said Meg Branson, member relations specialist for the chamber. "Students offer a lot of the manpower that is necessary."
Branson estimated that more than 400 students attended the fair.
Freedom House, which has the only detoxification program in Orange County, had a table to recruit volunteers for office work.
"It's not very glamorous but it's necessary," said Joslyn Ogden, assistant to the executive director. "The volunteer fair is a unique opportunity for us to connect with students."
Jane Armstrong, volunteer coordinator for the Orange County Department on Aging, runs a program that pairs volunteers with senior citizens for weekly visits.
"A volunteer will help a senior, and a senior tends to help the volunteer as well," she said.
Armstrong said that one volunteer joined because she had a grandfather in Vermont whom she was unable to see often.
"She can't be up there, so she's visiting someone here," Armstrong said.
She said that all three students who signed up for the program at last year's volunteer fair still were involved.
Many students signed up for organizations that reflected previous service or future plans.
"It gives you a good example of the real world," freshman Claire Baker said.
Baker wants to be a teacher, so she signed up to volunteer for groups that work with kids.
"It's very refreshing," she said. "It makes me more optimistic about the world."
Sophomore Munashe Magarira was one of many students who walked around the fair with a stack of fliers in hand.
"This year I really want to get involved with volunteer activities," he said.
Junior Myles Wynn, co-chair for Big Buddy, said that there is usually a lot of interest early on.
"There tends to be a big rush at the beginning of the year," he said
But Wynn said that the number of mentors for Big Buddy, a student organization that pairs volunteers with 6- to 14-year-olds, stayed fairly constant at 150.
"With Big Buddy, we want to find people who are really serious about being a good mentor," he said.
Wynn said that he got involved with Big Buddy last year and worked with an 11-year-old.
"Being a mentor I think you really make a substantial impact on a child," he said. "It's a very rewarding experience."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
