The Maroon Volunteer Center gives Mississippi State University students an opportunity to gain work experience and contribute to the community.
Meggan Franks, program coordinator for the MVC, said there are many benefits to volunteering.
“You’re not only providing services, but you’re also networking and creating connections that will help you find a job when you get out of college,” she said.
Jeremy Hall, student affairs graduate student, works as the assistant coordinator for the MVC. He said the organization partners with local companies who need help. After a request for volunteers is made, a mass e-mail is sent to members asking them to participate.
“We have great turnout. The quality of volunteers we receive always exceeds expectations,” he said.
The Maroon Volunteer Center is also open to staff and alumni, Hall said.
Addie Herman is the AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America worker for the MVC. Her duties involve office work and writing mass e-mails for members to alert them of volunteer opportunities.
“Volunteering helps students stay connected and involved in their community,” she said in an e-mail. “By being a part of your community, you not only help others, but you also help yourself and discover skills you didn’t know you had.”
On Sept. 10, the MVC partnered with the Center for America’s Veterans to host a memorial ceremony for 9/11 victims. The event was held at East Oktibbeha Elementary School.
Volunteers inflated balloons and handed them out to elementary students to be released at the end of the program.
Herman said the kids were really excited.
“It’s really opening up their eyes to show them that they can contribute to these special events as well,” she said. “You plan and plan for those events, but it’s really rewarding to see the aftermath of things.”
On Sept. 1, the MVC organized “Get Swept Starkville” during which members picked up trash from the streets before the Memphis football game. The event began and ended in downtown Starkville at the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, Franks said.
Every fall semester, Mississippi State partners with Starkville Habitat for Humanity to build a Maroon Edition House for a local resident.
This year, the MVC is coordinating the project with Habitat.
Hall said the construction for the house is going smoothly and may be finished as early as November.
“The administration said we need to reduce the amount of volunteers [we send]. They are running out of work,” he said.
The MVC is running low on sponsor money, which could delay completion of the project, Hall said.
To become a member of the MVC, one must visit mvc.msstate.edu/volunteer and fill out an application on availability, interests and special skills.
“When students sign up for the volunteer center, some choose to work with children or animals or something specific,” Herman said.
Cody Von Ubin, freshman business administration major, said he has been doing volunteer work for seven years.
For the past four years,  he has taught second graders how to speak Spanish. He is also a member of the leadership organization, Day One.
Von Ubin said signing up for volunteer work is not an easy task.
“You have to be able to handle the responsibilities. You have to have the time, patience and management to deal with something your whole community will be affected by,” he said. “The most challenging part is there’s so many people that need help, and there’s only so much you can do.”