Those on the OSU Institute of Technology campus who want to give back in some way but don’t know where they can go to best serve now have that opportunity through the Office of Student Life’s monthly Community Service Days.

The first Community Service Day is Friday Jan. 30, the kick off of a campus canned food drive with the donated items going to the Deep Fork Community Action Foundation’s food program for children and adults.

Collection boxes will be located in Covelle Hall, the Student Union and the Grady W. Clack Center. The food drive continues through Feb. 18, the next Community Service Day.

Kristyn Diggins, Student Life’s activities coordinator, said offering campus-wide community service projects is something she has been wanting to do since she came to OSUIT last year.

“All our student clubs do community service projects, but what about the students who aren’t in clubs,” Diggins said. “We wanted to do projects the whole campus could get involved with— clubs, students, even faculty and staff.”

Other ideas for future Community Service Days include a campus beautification day before OrangeFest in April and more projects that take them into Okmulgee.

“We’re trying to expand out into the community. With the recent OSUIT building purchases downtown, maybe a project down there. We’re very open to suggestions from the campus and the community,” she said.

Being involved and participating in community service projects is beneficial to everyone involved, Diggins said.

“It benefits you as a person when you give back. It benefits Okmulgee and it raises awareness about OSUIT in the community,” she said. “We’re hoping these projects help bring us closer together.”

Diggins said sometimes residents have misconceptions about college students and don’t think of them as being particularly philanthropic.

“People don’t realize the big hearts these students have. They want to give back,” she said. “All these cowboys have big hearts.”

For more information about Community Service Days or to suggest a project or organization in need, contact Kristyn Diggins at 918-293-4945 or email kristyn.diggins@okstate.edu