On Sept. 19, the University of Georgia celebrated Dawg Day of Service, the largest day of student community service in Athens. 348 students volunteered with 20 community partner organizations and campus sites including local schools, nonprofits, environmental organizations and animal rescues.

Serve UGA, a student-run organization advised by the Division of Student Affairs’ department of Engagement, Leadership, and Service, hosts Dawg Day of Service each semester. The organization also offers a variety of service opportunities throughout the academic year, connecting students with ways to give back to the community beyond Dawg Day of Service.

For Teresa Nguyen, a second-year health promotion major, service is often about the small things.

During Dawg Day of Service, Nguyen volunteered at Sweet Olive Farm where she helped clean the barn and tend to rescue animals. While the tasks may have seemed minor, she recognized how that work can make a lasting impact on the farm.

“If it’s not directly helping the animals, it’s helping the environment of the animals,” Teresa said. “Helping out in smaller tasks so the people who run the farm can focus on the creatures themselves is something that I like to do.”

Across Athens, students found different ways to make a difference while learning more about the communities they were serving. Ritesh Kujuluva, a junior at UGA and president of the Friends of Gospel Pilgrim student organization, has participated in the cleanup at Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery since her freshman year, returning each year to learn more about the site and contribute to its upkeep.

“I think it’s been cool, kind of just hearing about the history and being able to give back,” Kujuluva said.

For Kujuluva, the experience also highlights the power of bringing people together around a shared commitment to the community. As students worked together to clean up the landscape at Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery, they were also helping care for a place with a complex history.

“It’s cool that we can all come together as a community,” Kujuluva said. “Everyone’s out here picking up sticks, pulling out weeds just because they also want to be involved. I think that’s really beautiful.”

Dawg Day of Service gives UGA students like Nguyen and Kujuluva an opportunity to connect with the greater Athens community while building relationships with their peers and putting their values into action through service.

This year, students served at the following community and campus sites: Athens Area Humane Society, Athens Community Council on Aging, Athens Land Trust, Barrow Elementary School, The View at NoDa, Friends of Brooklyn Cemetery, Howard B. Stroud Elementary, Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful, RICE Institute, Project Safe, SGA Professional Clothing Closet, Shell to Shore, Sweet Olive Farm, The Cottage, Whitehead Road Elementary, UGA Trial Gardens, UGA Student Food Pantry, Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery, Wesley Woods of Athens and YWCO.

For students interested in volunteering with Serve UGA, the organization hosts more than 40 service events each semester. More information is available at https://els.uga.edu/serveuga/.