In a tight job market or admissions pool, students often use community service as a way to increase their chances of landing a job or school admission. However, some University of Wisconsin students feel they get more than just references and a competitive advantage out of community service.

“There are so many rewards to volunteering,” said Julia Frye, a community-service volunteer and coordinator with the Wisconsin Union Directorate’s Community Services Committee. “I often feel like I get a lot more out of the experience than the people I am helping. It also opens your eyes to problems in the world that many students are not aware of and the diversity of the city of Madison beyond campus.”

The WUD Community Service Committee meets weekly to brainstorm service-project ideas and methods of implementation.

Kristi Voegtline, another WUD Community Service Committee member, said she originally got involved with the committee as a resume-building exercise. However, she said she has come to see other benefits after picking up the committee’s packet, attending meetings and organizing projects.

“You get outside of the college atmosphere into the real world,” Voegtline said, referring to experiences with CASPER, an after-school program for homeless children.

Committee member Abbie Wood has volunteered with the YMCA and children’s hospital. Wood has also discovered the benefits of community service beyond resume building.

“[Volunteering] helps to give personality to the town, and it is a way to get involved with people of different backgrounds,” she said. “It gives students different viewpoints to learn from, and it also gives them a chance to get away from people of their own age and status.”

Christopher Anderson, public relations manager for the WUD Community Service Committee, said volunteer opportunities are “endless” in the Madison area.

“We have projects that involve working with kids, international students, nature and seniors,” Anderson said. “One of our biggest events is the Community Plunge where many people volunteer at once. Last year we had over 150 people. It’s normally a huge success.”

Voegtline pointed out that while community service can be time consuming, most positions are flexible to student schedules.

“Our committee caters to all different people. You can do [community service] on your own schedule, because it’s flexible and based on what’s interesting to you,” she said. “It’s definitely time consuming, but it’s worthwhile.”

Time, in fact, does not appear to discourage community service amongst the student population, UW sophomore Matt Brockdorf, director of the WUD Community Services Committee said. More often, students are just not aware of opportunities. Connecting eager students with projects is one of the main functions of the committee.

“Our students are able to find the time. We find that people have time but don’t know where to go,” Brockdorf said. “Campus is too large, and some people need a link to show them where to go and how to do it. We ‘subcontract’ different events by contacting agencies and setting everything up.”