Employees from the University of Georgia Office of Public Service and Outreach will fan out across Athens-Clarke County on Friday to provide hands-on assistance to local nonprofit organizations.

The first Day of Service, sponsored by the vice president for public service and outreach, is an opportunity for employees working in the eight units of public service and outreach to give back to the local community. UGA’s PSO units are already engaged in Athens in several ways, among them training for government officials through the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Small Business Development Center assistance to local business owners and entrepreneurs and educational programs offered by the Georgia Center for Continuing Education and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia.

Public Service and Outreach units have an annual $345 million impact on the state.

“Every day we have people working on the front lines throughout the state, helping to create jobs, develop leaders and address critical issues in Georgia’s communities,” said Jennifer Frum, vice president for public service and outreach. “Our staff asked for an opportunity to come together in Athens to do something together for the community in which they live and work. The first PSO Day of Service will include opportunities for every one of us to make a difference in the lives of the people in Athens-Clarke County.”

Friday’s service projects include helping the Athens Interfaith Network clean and organize additional space to house homeless individuals, spreading mulch at the Athens Area Homeless Shelter, organizing merchandise at the Project Safe Thrift Store, helping Coile Middle School with a pollinator project, donating new or gently used coats to the Salvation Army, and donating supplies to Mercy Health Center and the Athens Area Homeless Shelter.

Participating employees were given the choice of projects and will perform the service during their regular working hours. Work in the PSO units will not be disrupted as employees will be doing the service work in shifts.

Public Service and Outreach units are the Archway Partnership, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, Georgia Center for Continuing Education, Marine Extension/Georgia Sea Grant, Office of Service-Learning, Small Business Development Center and State Botanical Garden of Georgia. PSO faculty fellows, graduate assistants, student scholars and interns were encouraged to participate. Though separate from the PSO office, UGA Extension employees also were invited.

Day of Service participants will be at these locations at these times during the day on Friday:

9 a.m.-noon                 Coile Middle School, pollinator project, 110 Old Elberton Road

9 a.m.-noon                 Stroud Elementary School, grounds beautification, 715 Fourth St.

9 a.m.-4 p.m.                 Interfaith Hospitality Network, cleaning and moving furniture, 393 W. Hancock Ave.

9 a.m.-noon                 Clarke Middle School, school garden work, 1235 Baxter St.    

10 a.m. - 4 p.m.             Project Safe Thrift Store, merchandise organization, 995 Hawthorne Ave.

10 a.m.-noon               Road cleanup, Ben Burton Circle      

12:30-2:30 p.m.          Campus Kitchen Turkeypalooza, distributing meals, 135 Hoyt St. (Athens Area Council on Aging)

1-4 p.m.                      CHaRM: Center for Hard to Recycle Material, 1005 College Ave.

3-5 p.m.                      Athens Area Homeless Shelter, mulching, 620 Barber St.