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Students find purpose in volunteering

The accordion gave Michelle Schumann more than her first taste of music. She learned the harmony of volunteering.

Her grandfather introduced her to playing the instrument, and the power of sharing it with nursing home residents in her hometown of Sheboygan when she was in high school.

"It was in those nursing homes that I first discovered a sense of purpose in volunteering," she said. "It was a very different feeling to provide others with enjoyment. It's something you will never really understand until you try it."

Schumann carried that commitment to volunteer work with her to college. A senior studying communicative disorders at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, she volunteers as a site leader at the Portage County Humane Society. A team of students spends two hours one Friday each month walking and bathing dogs, playing with cats, making homemade dog treats and creating dog toys from old rugs. 

"My job is to make sure all the students enjoy their experience so they come back the next time," she said.

Nearly 2,000 UW-Stevens Point students volunteer in Portage County each year, according to Amanda Thielen, volunteer and employment coordinator for the Student Involvement and Employment Office (SIEO). These students help organize the food pantry at the Salvation Army Hope Center, manage The Cupboard university food pantry and visit with residents at the North Crest Assisted Living Center. They collect blood for the Blood Center of Wisconsin and the American Red Cross, rake leaves for local residents on Make a Difference Day and spend several Service Saturdays working on a community project.

Many of the volunteer projects include opportunities specific to their educational goals, Thielen said.

Students learn child development at "Big for a Night," a monthly activity night for children in Big Brothers Big Sisters. They learn about social issues on service trips to Milwaukee to help at a homeless shelter and about conservation during international trips to Trinidad. 

For Mercedes Mendez, a junior transfer student studying psychology and child and family studies, volunteering through the SIEO was a great way to meet new people while helping others and gaining valuable experiences. She has helped at the Stevens Point Salvation Army and takes part in "Big for a Night." She is also active in the University Council on Family Relations, a student organization for family and consumer sciences, which provides practical experiences for students.

"I'll be at UW-Stevens Point for two more years, so I'm working on making this my community," said Mendez. "Volunteering has helped with that."

It's also giving her valuable experience for her career, turning her goals in another direction. Originally planning to work in school testing and psychology, extracurricular activities at UW-Stevens Point helped her refocus on a career in youth counseling.

Next spring, she will be among a group of about 13 UW-Stevens Point students who travel to Dallas to volunteer at Camp Summit for children and adults with disabilities. This "alternative spring break" trip is sponsored by SIEO.

"I'm really open to all the experiences volunteering can provide," Mendez said. "It has a snowball effect. I feel like the next volunteer experience could change my path. If you have the extra time, why not volunteer?"

According to Thielen, the time UW-Stevens Point students volunteer is valued at more than $100,000 each year. It's actually worth much more, considering the ties students make to the community, career skills they build, the learning they experience and the help they provide to those in need. 

"Even if students volunteer one time, they see the impact their time can have," she said. "I hope they continue to volunteer in whatever helps them grow and serve their communities going forward."