Clutching cups of coffee and dressed in multiple layers, about 40 Ball State students gathered before the sun rose on Saturday in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center.
The students prepared to spend four hours helping the elderly and those with disabilities around Muncie during the Student Voluntary Services' annual Leaf Raking project.
"If I ever need help, somebody will volunteer to help me, so I think I should pay it forward," freshman telecommunications major Marissa McLain said.
McLain said her schedule doesn't allow her to participate in any of SVS' coordinated volunteer projects that occur weekly, but that serving is something she just has to do.
"It makes me feel better," she said. "It'd been a while since I'd done any [service work] and I thought how some elderly people are disadvantaged and can't [rake their own leaves.] I'm young and I'm only going to be young once, so I might as well use my body to do it."
166 slots were available for the service project, Ashley Thompson, program supervisor, said. Almost all of those slots were filled, including the entire afternoon shift.
Waiting in line to check in, Tommy Lingeman, sophomore zoology major, wondered aloud why he hadn't signed up in time to get into the afternoon shift.
"I just woke up," Lingeman said, joking that it was too early to be out.
Lingeman said that he was counting on expending a lot of energy raking leaves to keep him warm. He and two friends said they came out to help because they needed service hours for their fraternity.
One of the event's program coordinators, Austin Farmer, freshman sports administration major, said while students serve for a variety of reasons, simply getting them out in the community is key.
Farmer said he participated in the Ball State Gives Back summer bridge program and that really helped him get involved with SVS. Now he runs two weekly service projects, in addition to occasional one-time events such as leaf-raking.
"We're trying to help make Muncie a better place for everyone," Farmer said. "Even though today we're just raking leaves, it's really helping one person who may not be able to do it themselves."
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