The newly-opened Tommies Together Volunteer Center offers a wide range of opportunities for St. Thomas students and faculty to make a difference in their community this year.

The center, which opened in September, helps Tommies find service and advocacy opportunities in the Twin Cities area and around the world. It allows volunteers to experience and serve a variety of people, communities and cultures.

Dustin Killpack, the Volunteer Center coordinator, said that there are a variety of benefits to using the center and doing service.

“As a college student, it’s a really good opportunity to learn about yourself and also what you’re interested in,” he said. “It’s an easy way to explore career fields without having a huge commitment.”

The center fits into the university’s mission in a way that students and faculty alike can participate in.

“Our mission is all for the common good. This is a way for us all to give back to our community and our neighbors,” Killpack said.

First-year students also have the option of joining the First-Year Volunteer Corps offered by the center. This group of 10 students serves alongside volunteers at a local school for three to five hours per week, as well as two monthly meetings for reflection and development.

Student volunteer Sophia Wolf said service opportunities can sometimes be hard to find for first-year students if they’re not sure where to look, and the corps makes the process easier.

“I learned about it during orientation week and was at first daunted by the time commitment, but knew that it would be something that would not only help me grow as a person, but it would be a good way to help other students do as well as they possibly can,” Wolf said

Members of the Volunteer Corps serve at one of three schools in the area for a year, which can help identify areas of service that they enjoy or might want to shy away from in the future.

“Some people dive into that and are like, ‘I love working with youth, I think maybe teaching is my route,’ and others maybe don’t like teaching as much,” Killpack said regarding tutoring and mentoring. “It’s a way to explore.”

Wolf said she is looking forward to working in a school setting this year.

“Hopefully I will get to know lots of students on an individual level and be able to see them progress as the school year goes on,” she said.

Various service networks and organizations are available through the Volunteer Center. The Community Engagement Network connects Tommies with community organizations that fit their passions and abilities. It also allows students to keep track of their service hours throughout their St. Thomas careers.

The center will also be taking part in a St. Thomas day of service in April, which will benefit Feed My Starving Children. Volunteers will pack thousands of meals for starving children worldwide during the event.

The idea for the center came from an entrepreneurial class that realized there could be a way to help various student organizations meet their service needs.

“They just realized there was this gap with student clubs, particularly because they all have their service requirement,” Killpack said. “Some of them are really good at finding places (to serve). Others aren’t, so they just need a resource, and that’s kind of how this conversation got started.”

Clubs are required to log 90 minutes of service per semester for every member in the club. The Volunteer Center will make finding opportunities to serve easier.

The Volunteer Center is located on the third floor of the Anderson Student Center in room 318.

Spencer Flaten can be reached at flat6148@stthomas.edu