This past Saturday, the 15th annual
Service Raleigh was held from
8 a.m . to 1 p.m . Despite the rainy
weather, hundreds of volunteers
gathered at Harris Field to continue
the annual tradition of giving back
to their community.
Service Raleigh is an annual service
event bringing together North
Carolina State University and the
surrounding community, in the
spirit of helping others.
“With the help of our five committees,
we matched 2000 volunteers
with over 70 local non-profits,
schools and organizations,” Mary
Hale, Service Raleigh co-chair and
Park Scholar, said. “Our volunteers
consist of N.C . State students as well
as Raleigh locals, both children and
adults.”
NCSU and community volunteers
serve an estimated 100 schools, organizations
and non-profits around
Raleigh. The event is funded by the
Park Foundation, NCSU’s Student
Government and other local donors.
Fifteen years later, Service Raleigh
continues to be the largest
student-run service organization
in the Triangle, making a positive
impact through each volunteer and
the hours they commit.
“I think this is a great way for everyone
to get involved, especially
students. We’re making a difference
while having fun at the same
time, and meeting new people,”
Ian Brown, junior in design studies,
said.
Volunteers set out
to fulfill one mission,
‘to address the
needs of their community,
to foster a
sense of community
spirit and to inspire
volunteers to a lifetime
of involvement
in public service’.
“This will be my
first year volunteering with Service
Raleigh. I think it will be really rewarding,
and I’m making a small
difference in my community,” Sam
Harris, freshman in First Year College,
said.
“This year, Service Raleigh
worked with Trees Across Raleigh,
Raleigh Parks and Recreation, InterAct ,
the N.C .
Museum of Natural
History and the
Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty
to Animals, among
dozens of other local
organizations,”
Hale said.
Thousands of
hours have been
given to past projects ranging
from working in homeless shelters,
site restoration, distributing
fliers for multiple sclerosis societies,
landscaping, and much more.
Volunteers are only required to
do two things: “wear weatherappropriate
clothing and bring
a good attitude.”
Students plan and execute the
entire Service Raleigh event,
managing more than 2,000 volunteers.
Being one of the University’s
fastest growing service
organizations, doubling in size
since the first Service Raleigh
event in 1998.
“We were grateful to all of
our volunteers who came out to
serve, despite the rain-I think
it shows how committed N.C .
State students are to serving and
engaging with the Raleigh community,”
Hale said.
