The first-ever Utah College Day of Service on Oct. 14 will promote unity, service and belonging on the 10 participating college campuses.
When BYU Student Body President Fritz-Carl Morlant had the opportunity to meet with fellow college student body presidents across the state of Utah in April, he proposed the idea for the Utah College Day of Service. Since then, the leaders have met monthly to discuss and plan the day’s events.
Morlant said he was filled with love and gratitude for all the support Utah College Day of Service received.
“I met all the other student body presidents in the state, and I felt a spirit of love and belonging among all of us in Utah. I brought them the idea of doing something together where we can really help inspire them to get involved and serve in our different communities. All of them agreed and were so happy and excited to do it … It was a team effort,” Morlant said.
Local student body leaders said they wanted to come together and inspire students across Utah get involved in their communities.
“The College Day of Service seeks to create a spirit of unity and belonging among all college students and also gives an opportunity to give back to their communities,” Morlant said.
There are nearly 400,000 students enrolled in colleges throughout the state of Utah, with 10 of those colleges participating in the Utah College Day of Service. The event has been using its Instagram page to share important information regarding the events of the day.
Tiersa Smith, a BYU student studying marketing, has helped with the event’s centralized marketing campaign by creating brand guides and digital assets to share with participating colleges.
For Smith, being on the Y-Serve marketing team is an exciting opportunity to be a part of something impactful.
“We’re really hoping it becomes a legacy and something that carries on,” Smith said. “There have been blessings along the whole way.”
The Utah College Day of Service will offer many service opportunities for BYU students, supporting the university’s admonition to “Enter to learn, go forth to serve.” Available service opportunities include creating sleeping mats for refugees, writing letters to the elderly, building homes for those in need with Habitat for Humanity and a blood drive.
BYU Student Body Executive Vice President Gabriel Abelio said scriptures offer one reason why students should participate in service activities such as those happening on Oct. 14.
“The most important reason comes from the quote from King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon: ‘When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.’ Here at BYU, we’ll have a plethora of service opportunities that day. And whichever resonates with you, you have the opportunity to serve God’s children and touch the lives of people,” Abelio said.
Abelio said he believes the Utah College Day of Service is particularly powerful because the entire state is coming together to serve people locally and even globally.
“We’re here to have fun, grow spiritually, grow as leaders and to strive to have a great and lasting impact on the world. This is a perfect opportunity to do that and join together hand in hand with everybody, with people from all places and serving people from all places,” Abelio said.
The Utah College Day of Service activities will take place on Saturday, Oct. 14, from 9 a.m. to noon for BYU students. More information about the various activities happening on- and off-campus can be found on Instagram.
