Fair gives MTSU students volunteer opportunities in community, on campus

MTSU alumna and Green House Ministries staff member Abby Vaughn, left, shares information about their nonprofit organization with Anaiya Midget, 19, a junior business entrepreneur major from St. Petersburg, Fla. Dozens of students met with 16 on- and off-campus organizations recently to learn about volunteer opportunities for the coming academic year. (MTSU photo by Randy Weiler)

Dozens of MTSU students were recently introduced to 16 Murfreesboro-area organizations seeking volunteer help in the coming year.

The students, a mix of freshmen and upperclassmen, spent time with the representatives from on- and off-campus businesses or ministries.

MTSU students take part in the recent Volunteer Fair in the Student Union Commons. Sixteen on- and off-campus organizations and ministries met with with dozens of students looking for volunteer opportunities. (MTSU photo by Randy Weiler)

It was all a part of the annual Volunteer Fair, held during the fall of each new academic year to give students an opportunity to assist agencies and ministries with their efforts to meet individual needs in the community.

Greenhouse Ministries, Read to Succeed, Special Kids, Isaiah 117 House and Feed the Children were among the participating community organizations.

Jackie Victory, director, Center for Student Involvement and Leadership — Jackie Victory

“The students are looking for volunteer opportunities and learning ways they can live out their True Blue Pledge and be engaged in the life of the community,” said Jackie Victory, director of the MTSU Office of Student Organizations and Service.

“One of the most important things is if the agencies are able to meet quality volunteers who want to join the organization and who want to come back and continually help them while they are students,” Victory added.

Part of the True Blue Pledge, adopted just over a decade ago after the death of a student-athlete, includes “being a member of a diverse community, being engaged in the life of this community, (and) being a recipient and a giver.”

MTSU alumna and Greenhouse Ministries marketing/social media director Abby Vaughn of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, said the fair “is super fun and (it’s) exciting to see younger people come around (our table), to see how they can help the community.

“A lot of them are freshmen, which is really good to see that they’re interested in the community and interested in figuring out how they can help and contribute. At Greenhouse, we offer so many different things. Our hope is that we can find some area they feel they can connect to and help.”

From campus, the MTSU Stormwater Program, Raider Health Corps and Campus Recreation were among those offering opportunities for student volunteers.

Lanya Scott, 20, a junior psychology major from Athens, Georgia, said the Volunteer Fair helped “to inform students about all of the services going around in Murfreesboro. Some of them are building homes, helping foster kids and animals, staying healthy and helping people with their mental (health).”

Students unable to attend the fair can find out about volunteer opportunities on campus and in the community by going to the Student Organizations and Service website, https://mtsu.edu/sos, and clicking on the “Service” tab.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)