HELENA — Once a month Carroll College students volunteer their time to help around the community. Whether it was scrubbing and cleaning or cutting and carrying, Carroll students participated in Service Saturday.
Service Saturdays are run through the Hunthausen Center for Peace and Justice completely by students.
On April 13, students helped at Helena Food Share, Habitat for Humanity, Exploration Works, Good Samaritan and Eagle Manor Assisted Living.
“We are part of the community. It is important for us to help our community. It’s also important to open ourselves into new experiences,” said Bailey Babin, a Student Coordinator for Service Saturday.
“Personally, for me, I feel like it’s really important because love connection, I love getting to know other people and working side by side,” Olivia Wildes, a Student Coordinator for Service Saturday, said.
MTN stopped by Helena Food Share and Habitat for Humanity to catch up with two groups.
Six students, helping at Helena Food Share, were tasked with removing racks from all the fridges and freezers, scrubbing and wiping down both the racks and the appliances, and cleaning all the windows.
The seven students helping at Habitat for Humanity filled their time with cutting and nailing trim supports, cleaning up used materials, and moving doors to corresponding houses.
“They were fantastic. They were a lot of help. They picked up on using the saw very quickly, the nail gun very quickly,” said Jeremy Ingram, the Volunteer Coordinator for Helena Area Habitat for Humanity.
The students receive many positive reactions from members all around the community.
“We had the executives actually come and look at the houses today and they just thought it was really cool that we were here and that we were college kids coming and serving,” Wildes said.
“It’s fantastic. A lot of our volunteers are of the older generation, so actually knowing that the younger generation wants to come out and help build with us and help build the community is the greatest feeling in the world. It gives me hope,” said Ingram.
The students not only enjoy helping their community but like to volunteer with their friends and make new friendships along the way.
“Whether you know people or not you will end up making friends. It’s so worth it. It’s definitely a good way to make friends and to get to know people in a more deep way,” Wildes said.
