Aside from the heavy workload at school and the list of other life priorities,  Sacramento State students find ways to get involved in volunteer organizations to give back to their community. 

Society becomes more well-rounded when people invest our time in it. By giving back, more than the organization benefits. 

Volunteer opportunities offer experience as well as inspiring moments that may help students find what they enjoy for future career options. It is through the extra-curricular activities that students can develop leadership skills, connections and a passion to help others. 

Physical therapy major Brandon Schaffer is a member for Volunteers Around the World, one of the service groups listed on Sac State’s Orgsync website. Volunteers Around the World, or VAW, is an organization devoted to improving the living standards of poverty stricken communities in Latin America.

“We go to third-world countries and set up medical clinics,” Schaffer said. “Last summer, we went to the Dominican Republic and right now, we are fundraising to go to Panama this summer.” 

Schaffer has been an active member for VAW for two semesters.

“It is very humbling for me and I get a sense of accomplishment from it, just to help people and know I am making a difference in someone’s life,” he said. “I think volunteering is a way to get yourself out in the community more and make connections. Instead of going to school and coming back, you reach out to the community.”

Public health major Anna Ayrapetyan volunteered for an elementary school as a teacher’s assistant for an English class. 

“It was eye-opening,” Ayrapetyan said. “I understood why certain kids don’t do well in school. It’s not so much that they have less abilities than others, it is the circumstances or conditions that they are living in.”

The most important gift you could give someone is your time, and by investing it in an organization requires care and effort. 

Helping others is a humbling experience because it brings the community closer together with the idea that people should be working with one another instead of for themselves. 

A beehive works in a similar way. Sac State has the opportunity to make its own hive connecting and improving ties in the community through getting involved and stepping up.   

“While you’re in school, you may not end up working in a field that you like,” Ayrapetyan said. “A lot of people end up graduating and doing a completely different field of work than what they majored in, but volunteering is a really great way to go for what you want to do.”

Through Orgsync.com, students can find interesting organizations and start a journey of volunteer work. Volunteering can be a good way to build connections and branch out into a field that may lead to greater opportunities.

Economics major Patrick Landrum calls volunteering his passion and he encourages students to find something they can be committed to.

“Volunteering is a great opportunity to help people in need and you get to meet new people,” Landrum said. “It is a great thing when it comes to applying for graduate school (or) jobs.”

Landrum has experience with many organizations including: Alpha Gamma Sigma, Phi Theta Kappa, Club Mercedes and Blood Source.

There are other organizations on campus that focus on specific majors or professions, but incorporate volunteer work into their structure.

 Business administration major Kristina Vieira is a member of Women in Business, a professional organization.

“We do March for Dimes, Out of the Darkness Walk and the American River clean up,” Vieira said. 

Vieira said the experience of giving back to her community gave her a feeling of satisfaction.

“Knowing you can do something for free and out of the good will of your heart, is probably the best thing anyone could do,” Vieira said.

 Past students comment about the role volunteering has played in their lives at Sac State.

Sac State alumnus Thomas Berriesford volunteered for the Muscular Dystrophy Association during high school and college.

According to the website, the Muscular Dystrophy Association is the world’s leading nonprofit health organization, sponsoring research and seeking the causes of and effective treatments for neuromuscular diseases. 

“I volunteer because I was raised to be a man for others, to help and share what I have to offer with others because everyone can always use a little help,” Berriesford said. 

He has volunteered with the organization for the past seven years at the Muscular Dystrophy Association summer camp, where children with the disease can experience a week away from their parents in a kid-friendly environment. 

“These kids are the strongest people I know and their hope is limitless,” Berriesford said.”They live hard, shortened lives, but all is forgotten during this week of camp. If I am able to make them feel like a normal kid, if just for a week, then I have succeeded.”

When you meet someone with passion, you know they love what they do and it makes the day a little bit brighter. Helping another is one of the most rewarding feeling and we reach levels of gratitude that are easily overlooked in everyday life.