Two thousand volunteers shoveled, painted, planted, hammered and sawed Saturday as part of the 10th annual Service Raleigh.

Volunteers met in Reynolds Coliseum at 8 a.m. for a kickoff celebration and breakfast.

“It is really nice to see everyone who is going out just like you and doing service,” Sonya Patel, a Service Raleigh co-chair, said. One of the founders of Service Raleigh and original Service Raleigh co-chair, Melanie Conklin, spoke at the kickoff celebration and encouraged volunteers to have the confidence to help people.

“Your ability to help others is the power to change people’s lives for the better,” Conklin said. “You’re going to feel like stopping on your way home to fix other problems.”

Founded in 1998 by Park Scholars and members of Student Government, Service Raleigh is the largest student-run service project in the Triangle area and one of the University’s fastest-growing service events, according to the Service Raleigh Web site. Since 1998, the event has doubled in size.

“The biggest thing we have going this year is that it is the 10th annual Service Raleigh, so there’s a great legacy behind it,” Allison Barbour, a Service Raleigh co-chair, said.

According to Barbour, more than 60 partner locations contracted for this year’s event. Among them were Trees Across Raleigh, Raleigh Parks and Recreation, the Food Bank, the American Red Cross and Resources for Seniors. The organizers of Service Raleigh had an entire committee devoted to finding partners. The committee was responsible for getting out the word and making sure organizations from around Raleigh are informed about Service Raleigh. According to Patel, no one has ever been turned away. “[Service Raleigh] is not an organization, it is an event in which organizations get together as one large group to do various service projects for the Raleigh community,” Steve Rausch, Service Raleigh volunteer and a senior in international studies, said. “It’s great — it just makes you feel like you’re part of the big picture.” John Coggin, a sophomore in communication was in charge of public relations for Service Raleigh.

“The biggest thing is it’s sheer size,” he said. “It’s a big way to get people excited about service.” May Wong, a Service Raleigh volunteer and freshman in business management, said Service Raleigh is different from other service organizations in that it gets so many people out.

“It’s good to know I was a part of something this big and that helps the entire community,” Wong said. Approximately 600 more people volunteered for this years Service Raleigh than volunteered last year, and according to Barbour, this was Service Raleigh’s biggest accomplishment this year.

Barbour said Service Raleigh is always looking for more involvement from volunteers and partners. “[Service Raleigh] is one big day of service, no strings attached,” said Patel. “You just get out there and help a lot of people.”