UCA’s Volunteer Fair, held on Sept. 9, has continued the university’s strong commitment to helping the Conway community. 

At the event, students were able to see both the opportunity and the good that comes from a variety of volunteer organizations. 

With the Commitment program’s continuation, students now more than ever are seeking to fulfill their volunteer hours to renew their scholarships.

The Green Bear Coalition, an on campus conservation organization, served its very own ‘matcha’ to help raise awareness to the active conservation efforts that partner with several other registered student organizations and the surrounding Conway community.

Jacob Arber, who headed the table, described the “three flagship projects.”  

“We have two sustainable gardens on campus where we grow food to donate to our food pantry. And the food we grow is all grown without pesticides, grown without fertilizers, grown in a sustainable, natural way.” Arber said. “And then every year, we’ll turn those over, and we’ll compost the rest of the garden so we make our own fertilizer.” 

For Green Bears’ third project, Arber said, “We also have a pollinator garden on campus. It is on the Stone Dam Creek Trail, next to the nature reserve and so we curate for our local pollinators.” 

Beyond student lead projects there were also opportunities with larger organizations such as the Arkansas Blood Institute, where students are encouraged to donate, but are also asked to help prepare the medical equipment and kits that they provide or help facilitate the act of doing a blood transfusion. 

Juanita Graham, who ran the booth, said, “We make it as easy as possible for people to come out and donate.”

They have an upcoming blood drive on campus later this month going 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both the 23rd and 24th. 

A lot of those patients include cancer patients, trauma victims and women that have given birth.

Students will be able to make an immediate positive impact on the world around them as there is an exorbitant demand for blood among hospitals. 

There is no shortage of help that is needed. 

While it may seem daunting, these organizations understand what they are asking of its community. 

Students can expect flexible, low cost and accessible opportunities anywhere they seek to make an impact. 

The Food Recovery Network is another organization on campus that aims to reduce food waste. 

Gabby Stokes, who helped head the table, said that the network network calls Krispy Kreme “Sunday through Thursday to see if they have any excess donuts that would otherwise be thrown away.” 

To ensure minimal food is wasted, they take the remaining good sweets and take them to the Bethlehem House, which is one of the only homeless shelters in Conway. 

On top of feeding the homeless, students are also welcome to volunteer directly at the Bethlehem House. 

Whether it’s preparing toiletries or serving food to those in need, students certainly have their work cut out for them. 

The continued existence of these fairs, student organizations and output from the UCA student body have directly made their environment and community around them a much better place.