One Saturday a month, the Service Leadership and Community Engagement (SLCE) office puts on a community service event. The event is called “Service Saturdays.”
Richard Raridon, project coordinator with the SLCE office, said that the events used to correspond with other national holidays.
“In the past, our service days have been tied to national days of service, but that doesn’t always work well with the academic calendar or conflicts with other campus programs,” he said. “We decided we wanted to provide more opportunities for UW students to get out and serve in the local community and by planning them as monthly events there will always be another opportunity just a few weeks away!”
Regarding how the SLCE office chooses what to do for Service Saturdays, Raridon said that the process is contingent on the groups they work with.
“It varies a little for each one depending on who we partner with and what needs exist in the community,” he said. “We’d also like each one to be a little different than the last so we are providing a variety of different options to students.”
Raridon said that the next Service Saturday is coming up this weekend and that the Service Saturday is also The Big Event.
“September 30 is National Public Lands Day and we have partnered with WCC and the Outdoor Program to do some trail building,” he said. “Our October Service Saturday is also The Big Event which is on October 21.”
Raridon said that students interested in becoming involved with Service Saturdays can visit their website.
“They can sign up by visiting www.uwyo.edu/slce,” he said. “They can also sign up for our email newsletter to make sure they hear about all SLCE events.”
The impact that the Service Saturdays has on the surrounding community is important, but so is the impact that the event has on the students involved, Raridon said.
“I think beyond whatever we accomplish each Saturday, the real impact is in exposing students to service and helping them to discover their role as an active citizen, which will positively affect Laramie and other communities far into the future,” he said.
