NIC gives back to the community

Members of the community gathered on Saturday morning to participate in the eighth annual Day of Service volunteering event and lent helping hands to a number of local non-profit organizations.

Participants were sent to six different sites to do a variety of aiding tasks; volunteers tended to the gardens at the Shared Harvest community gardens and on NIC’s campus, they helped restore a home with Habitat for Humanity, cleaned up areas around the wave park and Fernan Lake with the Kootenai Environmental Alliance, and the final group stayed in the Edminster Student Union Building and made blankets to be donated around the community.

Participants gathered together in front of Lee Kildow Hall to plant a tree

The day began with everyone contributing to NIC’s status in the Tree Campus USA program by planting a tree on the lawn in front of Lee Kildow Hall before being sent off to their volunteering site for the day.

“I was excited that we were able to include the tree campus presentation so that everybody got to have something that they all did together, and then got to go into the community and continue to give back through their different projects” Kyle Johann, the coordinator of campus life  programs at NIC said about the kick-off event of the day.

Even though the volunteers had to endure cold, rainy weather and getting up early on a Saturday, everyone seemed to enjoy the time they spent giving back to their community.

“I really like volunteering because I’m just a natural helper and I like caring for others, so doing volunteer work just comes easily and naturally to me.” Lizzie Welker, a student at NIC majoring in social work said.

Volunteers helping at the Shared Harvest community garden

The Day of Service isn’t only meant to lend aid to parts of the community that need help, but to give members of the community who need something to do or want to volunteer  their time to a good cause an outlet to do so.

“I really love when we have opportunities like this, where everything is already sort of organized for you to help, you just show up and do your thing.” Welker also said.

Johann hopes that by having these events take place, it connects members of the community to different non-profit organizations so that they can continue to give back and volunteer on their own time.