This past Saturday, Hamilton student volunteers gathered for HAVOC’s Martin Luther King Day of Service. HAVOC, the Hamilton Association for Volunteering, Outreach and Charity, has been planning this day of service since the beginning of winter break, when they started to send outreach emails to different organizations and began working out additional logistics such as food, shirts and transportation to the sites.

Amy James, Director of Community Outreach, told The Spectator that HAVOC has had previous relationships with most of the sites that were visited on Saturday. There were a number of additional sites that were recommended to HAVOC by James for new outreach opportunities.

Jason Porter ’26, a student leader of HAVOC, says that “there’s a lot to be taken away from volunteering” and it is “a rewarding experience.” He further mentions that “engaging with local organizations makes us more aware of the needs in our area and gives us the opportunity to get off the Hill.” According to Porter, volunteering is “a great way to get to know other people in the community and build more bonds.”

“The work that gets done on these days of service makes a difference, and is super important to do,” he told The Spectator.

Volunteers at many of the sites organized donation rooms or helped with chores such as making beds, resetting utensils and helping in kitchens. One group of students packaged and handed out food, and worked with the Kirkland Art Center and the local library. Another group went to work at Hope House in Utica, which is also where some of the food that gets packaged at Harvest gets sent.

Another group went to help out at Emmaus House, which provides emergency shelter for women and children living in unsafe conditions. Hamilton has volunteered here multiple times and students reorganized the donation room in the shelter and made beds for placements that were coming to live in the shelter.

According to HAVOC’s website, “participation in HAVOC is a chance to put classroom learning, desire for social change and caring together through action.”

Porter says that he hopes that this day helps motivate the volunteers to want to do more for the community around them. He stresses that it’s never too late to start volunteering and making a difference.