UW-Whitewater students give back in huge way
Released: June 6, 2008
In many circles, college students are thought to be isolated from the rest of the world, oblivious to their surroundings. However, in 2007-08 students from the
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater gave an unprecedented amount of time and money to the local and global community.
During the 2007-08 academic year, more than 4,400 students were involved in 231 projects. These students donated a total of 30,383 hours of their time and raised an impressive $78,144.94. That amount is almost double the $39,327 that was raised last year. Of the 231 total projects, 209 were done by student organizations, which volunteered 18,126 work hours and donated more than $53,000.
"The community service data reflects not only the scope of UW-Whitewater students' empathy and awareness, but the character of our campus family," Associate Director of Career and Leadership Development Jan Bilgen said. "Our students have provided living examples of campus values through their dedication to serving others."
"What has impressed me most about this year's data is the number of organizations participating in service," Leadership Adviser Kim Clarksen said. "It appears that the service numbers are coming from a variety of organizations all over campus and indicates a greater awareness by all of our students."
While this year's total is large, students have always been serving the community at UW-Whitewater. "I've worked on the UW-Whitewater campus for more than 24 years and one of the things I'm most proud of about our campus is our students," Director of Career and Leadership Development Ron Buchholz said. "While the data from 2007-08 is impressive, it's relatively consistent over time. Over the past five years, students have fundraised and donated in excess of $235,000 to charities, many located in our state and region."
When it comes down to it, UW-Whitewater students want to help and make a difference in the community. "Students involved in campus organizations and programs have a wide variety of opportunities to serve the local and global community and take those opportunities to make a difference," Clarksen said. "Whitewater students don’t sit back and wait for someone else to fix a problem. They see a need and figure out how to fill it."
- Tom Applegarth,applegartg17@uww.edu
