Info Box:
1. Visit the YServe office located in 2330 WSC and 2010 WSC
2. Check with your counselor for major related service
3. Visit volunteers.utah.gov
Picking up trash at a nearby park, raking leaves or helping the elderly cross the street are great service activities. In addition to these, there are a number of other ways to serve the community.
From BYU’s own YServe to Utah Commission on Volunteers, there are several ways to step outside the box and tailor your service to what you are interested in.
Whitni England, a therapeutic recreation major from Washington, loves to get involved and said she is confident there is a service opportunity in everyone’s interest.
“If you like to do carpentry, do Habitat for Humanity and help build houses,” England said. “If you like horses, you can volunteer at a horseback riding therapy organization like Courage Reins in Highland. If you just love kids, look up Friday’s Kids and watch a child for a couple hours so their parents can have a night out.”
England suggests two places to go to find service opportunities.
“YServe is a great place to check first,” England said. “Second, ask your [academic] counselor if there are any organizations that you could possibly work with that are related to your major.”
Grace Harrington, an emergency management major from Ohio, also said YServe is the best information source at BYU.
YServe is located on the second floor of the Wilkinson Student Center. Harrington said you can walk into YServe and tell them any interest you have and they will look up activities in categories which correspond. YServe even sets aside a category for students who do not have transportation.
Taylor Henderson, a Russian major from St. George, recommends the Peer Youth Mentoring program for community service, which he found through YServe.
“I loved being able to have interaction with kids since we don’t have that chance here in college,” Henderson said. “We are surrounded by students ranging from 18-25 all the time and seldom interact with the real flavor of life, or children.”
Henderson said the Peer Youth Mentoring program allows him to hang out with students at local elementary schools and assist them in doing their homework.
To learn more about the Peer Youth Mentoring program email .
Campus is not the only place to find information about service. Joyce Porter, Digital Media academic adviser at UVU, encourages students to visit volunteers.utah.gov to look for opportunities outside of school.
Porter’s favorite service activity is going to visit patients at the Provo Rehabilitation Center.
“I am on a first-name basis with them,” Porter said. “We visit and tell stories to each other and just have a lot of fun. I consider them my friends.”
