Volunteers who look forward to lending a paw for Days of Service can begin registering today.

Days of Service, Augusta University’s annual service project, gives university students, employees and their families the opportunity to help those in the community who need it most. This year, Days of Service will be hosted over three weeks, from Nov. 1-22.

Days of Service 2022 will feature more than 60 in-person and virtual service projects supporting more than 30 community organizations, including museums, hospitals, animal shelters, food banks, youth and family centers, wildlife preservation organizations and more. Volunteers can work as individuals or as part of a team.

Kristie Johnson, community engagement manager for the Office of Volunteer Services and Community Engagement, encourages students and employees to use Days of Service as a springboard for future service in the CSRA.

That’s exactly what Priscilla Wynn, executive assistant in the Office of Finance, did when she first participated in Days of Service five years ago. She chose to volunteer for the Augusta Dream Center, a local resource center, with her sister.

“AU’s Days of Service was life changing for me. My sister and I walked away that first day knowing we had found a new love. The need was so great. There were so many nice donations from the community but not enough manpower and volunteers to get them ready for distribution. My sister and I begin to lose sleep thinking about the little kids and parents that acted as if it was Christmas because they were receiving free food and clothes,” she said.

Wynn has continued to work with the Dream Center regularly since 2017, supporting their free clothes closet and other initiatives. For the Volunteer Services team, Wynn’s experience is the perfect testimony.

“It’s stories like this that are the entire purpose for AU Days of Service,” said Johnson.

To volunteer as a team:

1. Put together a service project team. This could be a student group, a university department employee group, a hospital unit team or a group of AU friends.
2. Choose a team leader. This person will be responsible for getting the team signed up and communicating with the nonprofit community partner about the project.
3. Choose a service project. Each team should go to the Days of Service volunteer registration website, review the available service projects and choose one. 
4. Register your team. Only the team leader should sign up for a project. The team leader will be prompted to list the names of the team members during the registration process. There should only be one registration per team. 

To volunteer solo:

1. Register as an individual volunteer. Go to the Days of Service registration website, review the available service projects and choose one.

The deadline for registration is Friday, Oct. 7. Volunteers are encouraged to share their service work on social media with #AUGDaysOfService.