Volunteers Set for Day Of Service

Project UNC, the student-led service event designed to increase campus involvement in community outreach projects, will kick off festivities at 9 a.m. Saturday in Polk Place, or in Gerrard Hall if weather does not permit.

Sophomore Elizabeth Gottschalk, assistant coordinator for the project, said this year's event will give students the chance to help others in the community.

Project UNC is a one-day event during which organizers assign students a four-hour service project in Chapel Hill.

The service opportunities include helping build houses for Habitat for Humanity, cleaning up at Jordan Lake and doing grounds work at the Botanical Gardens.

Junior Justin Young, coordinator of Project UNC and student body president-elect, said the schedule for Saturday will be both fun and rewarding.

"Saturday morning, we will have hundreds of volunteers come by Polk Place about 9 a.m. for a nice little breakfast and then listen to some speakers before getting shipped off to their different locations to volunteer," Young said.

"About 2 p.m. everyone will return to have a little lunch and enjoy the entertainment we are providing."

Sophomore Nell Brewer, head of ceremonies for the event, said Anson Dorrance, UNC women's soccer coach; Charles Wydell, UNC alumnus and professional football player; and Young will speak from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Brewer also said several groups will be on tap to entertain the volunteers after a morning of service.

"Our entertainment will be Kamikazi, an Asian dance group; Mezmerhythm, another dance group; ... Hip Hop Nation; and Bad Luck Star, a band from Birmingham, Alabama."

For those students who want to get involved, Young said registration is available online at www.unc.edu/student/orgs/punc, as well as in the Pit during the rest of the week.

Young said Project UNC falls into student government's renewed dedication to community service. "It's a push that hasn't been there in the past," he said. "It is a part of the University's mission, and we just want to extend that to the student body."

Young also said Project UNC allows students to reap the rewards of stepping out of their university boundaries.

"(Volunteerism is) just important for any group and helps bridge the gap between students and the town of Chapel Hill," Young said. "It's just a great opportunity, and everyone benefits from it."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.