This past Saturday, Feb. 8, HAVOC (Hamilton Association for Volunteering, Outreach and Charity) held the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at Hamilton College. While planning for the event, HAVOC reached out to various local organizations to coordinate volunteer sites for students to visit. Bobby Nicholson, one of the co-directors of HAVOC, said, “HAVOC has a tradition of planning days of service and volunteering throughout the year, and we love being able to build the college’s connection with the local community.” HAVOC’s days of service also help build relationships with organizations from Clinton, Utica and New Hartford.

This past service day, HAVOC sent volunteers to a number of local organizations, including Rescue Mission of Utica, Emmaus House, Brookdale, Stone Presbyterian Church, Thread of Life Thrift Store, Midtown Utica Community Center (MUCC) and Dunham Public Library. HAVOC has pre-existing relationships with many of these organizations and has been regularly sending volunteers to assist them.

The days of service always include t-shirts and food for those volunteering. Service days are a very important part of HAVOC’s work; the co-directors, Amy James and Janelle Perry, worked over the winter to organize another MLK service day to bring students together. HAVOC includes a variety of different service experiences and opportunities, and Nicholson says that service days, “help get students involved. We are always looking to build our base of volunteers and help out many fantastic organizations.” All students can take part in service days, as well as volunteer weekly to get involved with HAVOC and other local organizations. HAVOC encourages students to get involved, whenever they can, and find opportunities to create meaningful connections with communities surrounding campus.