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Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Community Outreach and Opportunity Project (COOP) joined forces this month to volunteer at local organizations for the D-III Week of Service, a conference-wide community service competition. The goal was to gather as many hours of service as possible from April 2 to April 8. Hamilton had 128 athletes participate, and they amassed 300 hours of hands-on volunteer service during the seven-day event.

More than 50 Hamilton students are forgoing warm beaches and powdery slopes to lend a hand to others through the 25th annual Alternative Spring Break (ASB). ASB is a volunteer venture that consists of five different community service trips this year.

The Community Outreach & Cooperative Project (COOP) hires senior fellows each year to help run volunteer projects both in the Hamilton community and in the greater Utica area.

Take 35 active middle schoolers, add in 15 Hamilton students, put them in a gym with game, crafts, and pizza and a healthy dose of competition, and you have the popular Hangin’ with Hamilton.

HAVOC’s 20th Annual MLK Jr. Day of Service saw the largest turnout yet with just under 250 people coming out early on Jan. 20 to volunteer in Clinton, New Hartford, Utica, and Rome. HAVOC sent students to 28 sites ranging from organizational work for a city mural to spending time with the elderly to playing with kittens.

In a spirited and giving mood fitting for the holidays, students recently gathered to participate in the ongoing “Food Harvest,” where volunteers collect and package excess food from the college’s dining halls.

Although there are many opportunities for community outreach at Hamilton, a select group of students have chosen to go above and beyond by taking their service experience off the Hill and into their local communities.

In conjunction with the Community Outreach & Opportunity Project (COOP), eight Hamilton students helped local middle school students improve their Spanish language conversational skills this semester.

On any given day throughout the region, Hamilton students can be seen tutoring secondary school students, providing clean-up crews for elderly homeowners, and helping local agencies with everything from preparing grants to painting buildings. In 2016, students spent 25,643 hours volunteering.

The COOP CSI program enables students with an interest in community service to work in a paid internship in a nonprofit organization. Here are some of the reflections expressed by the student CSIs and their supervisors at the 7th annual breakfast.