"Enter to learn, go forth to serve," the familiar BYU motto states, but students don't need to head for a foreign country to find ways to offer their help. There are a lot of service projects going on right here in the community.

Nate Urry, Service Council Director at the Center for Service and Learning, said students can serve now.

"Every student has time they can give to service," he said. "You can find an hour."

Urry said when he first came to BYU he didn't think he had time for service, but that thought now seems absurd to him.

"That's ridiculous!" he said. Students waste more time than they know, he said, and everyone can find some time to serve.

Many students wonder where they can go to find service opportunities, particularly amidst their busy schedules. A good place to start is the Center for Service and Learning. The center has service activities ranging from one-time opportunities on the urgent-needs board to weekly assignments through their response program. Urry said the response program gives students an opportunity to try a different type of service activity each week.

There are approximately 30 service programs available through the center, some of which are from different agencies, said Whitney Powell, office assistant at the Center for Service and Learning.

A new addition to the center is the Service Bar, which has been available for a little under a year. The Service Bar allows students to do service right in the center, Powell said. The bar has everything from LDS Humanitarian Aid kits for students to work on to things for the Head Start program.

"The nice feature is, if you're walking by and you have free time, you can do something to feel good about yourself that day," Urry said.

Another service opportunity students are taking advantage of is Farrer Elementary School in Provo. Approximately 1500 hours of volunteer service are given by BYU students a month, said Kristin Wilson, facilitator at the school.

Wilson said the easiest way for students to get involved is through the Center for Service and Learning. However, students can also contact Wilson and set up arrangements separately. Farrer Elementary lets out of school in about a week, she said, but will be back in session at the end of August.

"Right after Labor Day would be a good time to call [to set up arrangements for Fall]," Wilson said.

If the center and the elementary school aren't quite students' cup of herbal tea, they can simply get creative, such as students Chris Baird, Brent Friess, and Jacob Sohn did with Jock Rock.

Jock Rock is a semi-annual party used to raise food and money for those in need as well as awareness of the hunger problems in Utah, Baird said, a senior from Salem, Ore., majoring in business management.

Whatever the case, serving opportunities abound in the community for students, Powell said.

"Everybody can help," she said. "There's needs right here in Provo; there's a lot of good we can do."

Copyright Brigham Young University 23 May 2006