Mississippi State students hope to make M.U.S.I.C. by helping others today.
M.U.S.I.C., which stands for Mississippi Universities Service Into Caring, is a statewide community service event.
All eight public universities in Mississippi are participating, said Billy Dahlgren, assistant director of Student Life.
“This is the first event of its kind,” Dahlgren said. “They just wanted all the students in the state of Mississippi to unite and benefit their communities for an afternoon of service.”
MSU students plan to help out by working with the elderly, raking leaves and contributing to other causes from 2-5 p.m., said Lauren Denham, a member of the Student Association cabinet.
“We have 15 organizations that are going to be doing community service in the Starkville area, and they range from Habitat for Humanity, to the Humane Society, to the Boys and Girls Club,” she said.
As of Tuesday, about 200 volunteers from various campus service groups had pledged to participate, Denham said.
She added that students should participate because it’s a good opportunity “to realize that there are people in your own city, or even in your own college town, who are less fortunate,” especially during the week before Thanksgiving.
After volunteering, students will be treated to a concert by “Eristocracy,” a local band.
“The concert will be from 5-6:30 p.m. Friday at the amphitheatre,” said Alan H. Jabri, AmericorpsVISTA at MSU.
Admission is free for volunteers, he said.
Anyone else wishing to attend may bring an item to be donated to charity in order to gain admission, Denham said. Accepted items include a canned good, a coat that can be donated to Coats for Kids, an unused toy that can be given to a child at Christmas or an unopened can or bag of dog food or cat food that can be given to the Humane Society, she said.
Jabri said he hopes to have a large number of volunteers turn out for M.U.S.I.C.
“Some students can’t because they have classes Friday afternoon, but we want them to be able to contribute and still enjoy the concert,” Jabri said.
Students interested in volunteering can contact the Campus Outreach office at 325-8471 or the Student Association office at 325-3917.
Volunteers can also show up at the amphitheatre 1:30-2 p.m., Jabri said.