On Tuesday, Sept. 22, multiple students stood inside the Maucker Union for Stop & Serve.  From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., members of the UNI Service & Leadership Council held this volunteer event for students to paint small canvases for children who are currently at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.

The event has been going on for a few years now. In the past, SLC has made items including tie blankets, pet toys and birdhouses. According to the “Stop & Serve” webpage on the UNI Student Involvement website, “Students are welcome to stop and serve for however long they have to give. There is no time commitment required. All projects are easy and fun.”

Jocelyn Jenks, senior family services and communication disorders double major, is a member of SLC. She explained that SLC has five committees and hosts various volunteer events on and off campus for students to be involved with.   

Nick Baumann, junior graphic technologies major, is also a member of SLC and stated that one of the various places in the community he has volunteered at is the “Boys and Girls Club.”

SLC has made Stop & Serve a repeated event because it gives students an opportunity to volunteer without having to sign up or go off campus to participate in opportunities to serve. Stop & Serve can be as little as five minutes depending on students’ schedules.

With the Maucker Union being very busy during the day with events, SLC did not get as many participants as they had hoped. Lauren Janning, junior biology major and SLC member, echoed this.

“We wish it was more successful” said Janning, “but there is a lot going on.”

Many students are also in class at these times and may have other obligations to attend as well.

This is SLC’s third event, and there are many more to come in the future, including Day of Service days, where students can volunteer for a large span of time. There is also Volunteer Tuesdays held every Tuesday afternoon and evening.