AACC held a community service fair to promote volunteer opportunities on Wednesday. 

Several organizations, such as The Salvation Army and American Red Cross, showed students how giving back to the community doesn’t always have to be through money; it can be through time as well. 

“It is important for students to know about the community they live in and the needs that are right here in their own neighborhoods,” AACC Service Learning Coordinator Tresa Ballard said. “Our purpose for bringing these nonprofits together is to shed light on opportunities for service and to talk about the needs in our country.” 

The Service Learning Center and the Sarbanes Center for Career and Civic Engagement collaborated in organizing the event. Organizations gave out flyers, T-shirts, candy and information about ways to give back.

Corie Jones, who managed the Blue Ribbon Project table, said working with the students was “amazing.”

“We’ve had a lot of people and different interests come and ask about our organization,” Jones said. “There are a lot of really great nonprofits here and we’re all trying to do our little bit of work to make the world a better place.”

Stephanie Cahill, who managed the Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services table,  said many of the students who volunteer for the county’s annual holiday sharing program end up becoming future donors.