More than 175 students connected with 31 nonprofit companies and explored service opportunities in the Twin Cities on Sept. 15 during the Service Opportunities Fair for the Common Good in McNeely Hall.

Barbara Gorski, director of the Business 200 Learning Through Service Program, founded the fair 10 years ago. It has historically been marketed to Business 200 students because Gorski believes volunteer work helps develop well-rounded students who understand the impact business has on their community.

The student volunteers complete 40 hours of service and journal about their experiences during the semester.

But the impact of volunteering has reached further than the walls of the classroom.

“We’re getting really well-known in the community,” Gorski said. “We have worked with over 4,000 organizations in 19 countries outside the U.S.”

She added that she receives two to five phone calls a week from nonprofits interested in connecting with student volunteers.

This year, university faculty interested in implementing service learning into their classrooms joined students who wanted to connect with community organizations at the fair. Kelly Sardon-Garrity, program manager for Course-Based Community Engagement, was present at the event to connect with faculty and community partners.

“Community engagement has been around for a long time at St. Thomas,” Sardon-Garrity said. “Our role is to really bring folks together so we can make these connections from St. Thomas in core space engagement and in the off campus local community.”

Sardon-Garrity was excited about what opportunities students would take away from the fair beyond the business experience.

“(The nonprofits) arrive at the fair knowing the most likely student to show up is the Business 200 student, but I’ve made it very clear to them we’re advertising much broader this year– faculty will be here– so they are ready for a variety of things,” Gorski said.

Over the years the Service Opportunities Fair for the Common Good has created long-lasting partnerships with many of the nonprofit participants. One such nonprofit, Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, sent Volunteer Specialists Brett Zimowicz and John Gambino to the event multiple times.

“We typically look for a range of things from individual volunteer opportunities to group opportunities,” Zimowicz said. “Students have been helpful in the past we’ve had a good presence from some of our sites.”

While some organizations contact Gorski and identify their preference for working with clubs prior to attending the fair, other nonprofits maintain flexible schedules and are eager to accept students willing to volunteer for a few hours or on a consistent basis.

Juniors Jackie Payne and Camille Mulcahy represented the student organization Volunteers In Action during the fair.

“We’re just hoping to get the word out there about Volunteers in Action and make a bigger name for it to get anybody who really wants to volunteer in the community to really be able to do that,” Payne said.

Students’ efforts do not go unnoticed by the community, university faculty and staff.

“It’s just amazing to me the things that students will do,” Gorski said. “We put enough structure into place and then push them out the door, and this magic happens where a student realizes, ‘Oh my God, I can make such a difference.’”

Emily Sweeney can be contacted at swee4225@stthomas.edu.