Service Projects & Volunteer Opportunities
Below is a list of registered service project and volunteer opportunities for UNI's Day of Service, April 8, 2026.
Sign up for service projects / volunteer opportunities will begin in February 2026.
- OPEN - a service project/volunteer opportunity you can sign up for.
- CLOSED - a service project/volunteer activity that is not open for sign up.
If you see an “open” project that is a good fit and learning opportunity for your students or fits your mission and purpose, contact Julianne Gassman at gassman@uni.edu and we will consider pulling that project for your group.
Volunteer Registration will be open Feb 9 - March 6
- Students are encouraged to sign up for ONE volunteer opportunity on April 8th. Only students not already doing a project in their classes, with their department department, or other groups are invited to sign up to volunteer.
- Registering early is encouraged as volunteer opportunities will fill up and close.
- Students are encouraged to communicate with their instructors early and plan accordingly.
Open
Service project/volunteer opportunity that can be signed up for. Sign up will open in February 2026.
Spring Newsletter Mailing Prep- Cedar Falls Historical Society
Volunteers will be folding, sealing, and labeling spring newsletters which will be mailed later that week.
Partner: Cedar Falls Historical Society
Open
Off Campus
Sprucing Up the Arboretum - Cedar Valley Arboretum and Botanic Gardens
Volunteers will be helping in the gardens with Spring clean-up including picking up fallen branches and replacing benches and picnic tables.
Partner: Cedar Valley Arboretum and Botanic Gardens
Open
Off Campus
Volunteer Feedback: What Can We Do?
Online Event to gather information on best ways for the Arboretum to market to and connect with UNI Students.
Partner: Cedar Valley Arboretum and Botanic Gardens
Open
Online
Garden Support - CEEE
Volunteers will help clean, set up, and plant seeds for the SPROUT Garden behind the CEEE.
Partner: Center for Energy and Environmental Education
Open
On Campus
Volunteer Reception Center Practice - Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley
Assist AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP program practice their Volunteer Reception Center setup drills.
Partner: Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley
Open
Off Campus
Motivational Signs - Gamma Phi Beta
Making encouraging and motivating signs for girls who are participating in Girls On The Run. These signs will be used during their practice 5K in May.
Partner: Gamma Phi Beta
Open
On Campus
House of Hope Support - Alpha Sigma Tau
Volunteers will put together boxes of necessities for House of Hope. Additionally volunteers may be making cards and blankets.
Partner: Alpha Sigma Tau
Open
On Campus / Off Campus
Preparing Paperwork Packets - Friends of the Family
Help put together client paperwork packets including welcome folders and intake and exit packets.
Partner: Friends of the Family
Open
Off Campus
Disease Prevention Screening - My Health Iowa
Volunteers will assist with blood pressure and cardiovascular disease prevention.
Partner: MyhealthIowa - MiSaludIowa
Open
Off Campus
Book Drive - Friends of the Library
Volunteers will assist with a book drive, and possibly gathering donations and boxing up books.
Partner: Friends of the Library
Open
Off Campus
Food Pantry Support - Hope City Church
Volunteers will help at the Cedar Valley Dream Center/Hope City Church- Pantry and will help assist clients, stock pantry items and organize items.
Partner: Hope City Church
Open
Off Campus
Ronald McDonald House - Alpha Delta Pi
Volunteers will host a drive for supplies and make goody-bags for Ronald McDonald House Charities and families staying at the houses.
Partner: Alpha Delta Pi
Open
On Campus
South Campus Cleanup Effort - Iowa Waste Reduction Center
Assist in cleaning up South Campus
Partner: Iowa Waste Reduction Center
Open
On Campus
Food Packing - Meals From the Heartland
Meal packing event to help feed the hungry throughout the world. Meals will br delivered around the world, wherever people are undernourished or starving.
Partner: St. Stephens, ThreeHouse, Campus Spiritual Association Leaders
Open
Off Campus
Welcome Kits - Friends of the Family
Volunteers will shop for items (cleaning supplies, household items) to put into welcome kits to newly housed clients and then will assemble the kits at the FOF office.
Partner: Friends of the Family
Open
Off Campus
Blood Drive - LifeServe Blood Center
Volunteers will give blood at a drive hosted by UNI Nursing faculty with the assistance of nursing students.
Partner: LifeServe Blood Center, UNI Nursing Program
Open
On Campus
Spruce up a Workshop for Veterans - Americans for Independent Living
Volunteers will assist in organizing space that will be utilized for a workshop for Veterans.
Partners: Americans For Independent Living
Open
Off Campus
Support a Community Art Project - Youth Art Team
Volunteers will assist with tasks such as: drilling pilot holes into wood, sanding wood, moving wood, painting small pieces of wood, and/or moving wooden sculptures.
Partner: Youth Art Team
Open
Off Campus
Spring Cleaning - Youth Art Team
Volunteers will assist with spring cleaning at YAT "headquarters"!
Partner: Youth Art Team
Open
Off Campus
Panther Innovation Lab: Build What’s Next
Volunteers will participate in a fast-paced, hands-on workshop where community partners bring real challenges.
Partner: Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley, Grow Cedar Valley, Community Mainstreet, Experience Waterloo
Open
On Campus
Painting & Remodeling Apartments & Hallways - New Aldaya
Volunteers will be assisting with painting apartments and hallways throughout the facility and potentially remodeling projects.
Partner: New Aldaya
Open
Off Campus
Spruce up Historic Homes and Grounds - Grout Museum
Volunteers will help clean and organize spaces in two historic houses as well as help clean up grounds around the perimeters of the museums.
Partner: Grout Museum
Open
Off Campus
Roadside Cleanup with UNI American Marketing Association Student Org. - DOT
Volunteers will assist with roadside cleanup supported by the Iowa DOT.
Partner: UNI American Marketing Association, Iowa DOT
Open
Off Campus
Create Care & Wellness Packages - Health and Family Services Club
Volunteers will be creating care & wellness packages to be distributed to local community organizations during National Home Visiting Week.
Partner: Heath & Family Services Club
Open
On Campus
Prep Building Grounds for Summer - Boys & Girls Clubs Teen & Educational Center
Volunteers will get the exterior of the building prepared for the summer, This may include garden work as well.
Partner: Boys and Girls Club Teen & Education Center
Open
Off Campus
Projects around the Club - Boys and Girls Clubs of the Cedar Valley
Volunteers will assist with projects on the outside and inside of the club.
Partners: Boys and Girls Club of the Cedar Valley
Open
Off Campus
Help Run Activities and Clean Up - Elk Run Heights Boys & Girls Club
Volunteers will run/facilitate outside and/or gym activities, and assist with cleaning up the outside areas.
Partner: Elk Run Heights Boys & Girls Club
Open
Off Campus
Help with Athletic Events for Adult Special Olympics - YMCA & Goodwill
Volunteers will help facilitate 4 athletic opportunities for adult Special Olympics athletes in Basketball Skill, Bocce Ball, Football Skills, and Track and Field.
Partner: YMCA & Goodwill
Open
Off Campus
Closed
A service project/volunteer activity that is not open for sign up.
Building, Restoration, and ReStore Support - Habitat for Humanity
Students in the Depart. of Construction Mngt. will be assisting with three house builds, work on a historic/restoration home, and work in the ReStore.
Partner: Iowa Heartland Habitat for Humanity
Closed
Off Campus
MEP Program - School Districts
We hope to work with school districts identified during parent/teacher conferences to offer experiences for preschool and/or kindergarten students when school is not in session. Hopefully we are offering opportunities for these students and families to assist during a time school is not in session.
Partner: ELEMECML 4151
Closed
Off Campus
Campus Conversations: Students Shaping Civic Culture - Center for Civic Education
Small groups of students - guided by trained facilitators - will explore challenges and opportunities for building a strong civic cultures at UNI. Ideas emerging from these sessions will inform the Center for Civic Education's 2026-2027 strategic plan, with students invited to stay involved in selected projects.
Partner: Invited UNI Classes
Closed
On Campus
Love Boxes - Alpha Xi Delta
Packing Love Boxes for the Cedar Valley Angels. These are essential item care packages for foster care youth and their families. They consist of canned goods, toilet paper, body soap/lotion, snacks, hair brushes, tooth paste and brushes, clothes, and age appropriate items like diapers or toys.
Partner: Alpha Xi Delta
Closed
On Campus
Mapping Routes for Bed Delivery - Love, INC.
Students in GIS class will map the routes for the delivery of 150 beds to families in need.
Partner: Geographic Information Systems II: GEOG 4320
Closed
On & Off Campus
Delivering Beds - Love, INC.
Delivering beds to families in need in the Cedar Valley.
Partner: UNI Athletics
Closed
Off Campus
Cleaning Up Public Trails & Sports Fields - Kinesiology & Athletic Training
Students in the Department of Kinesiology and Athletic Training will clean up trails and outdoor sport facilities around the Cedar Valley
Partner: Department of Kinesiology and Athletic Training
Closed
On & Off Campus
Maintaining Public Art - Art Students
Art students will clean public art around Waterloo/Cedar Falls.
Partner: Waterloo Center for the Arts; Hearst Center for the Arts
Closed
Off Campus
Free Concerts Hosted by UNI's School of Music
UNI School of Music students will be offering free concerts.
6pm - Trumpet Studio Recital - Davis Hall
7:30pm - Concert Band - Great Hall
7:30pm - Student Recital - Go Benesh, Saxophone - Bengtson
8pm - Student Recital - McCaffrey Brandt, Double Bass - Davis
Partner: UNI School of Music
Open for Concert Attendance
On Campus
Tax Assistance - VITA
Providing free basic income tax preparation and electronic filing services to qualified individuals.
Partner: UNI Accounting Class
Closed
On Campus
Cornerstone Produces Podcasts - Day of Service Projects
UNI students will produce podcasts highlighting projects from Day of Service. To listen follow UNIEngaged through UNI's Office of Community Engagement.
Partner: Cornerstone Students, Office of Community Engagement
Closed
On Campus
Live TV Production
Students in Advanced Digital Media: TV Studio Live/News will produce shows that highlight their own engagement on the Day of Service as well as various other projects of the day.
Partner: Advanced Digital Media
Closed
On & Off Campus
Paws for Panhellenic - Animal Shelter
Volunteers will assist at a local animal shelter.
Partner: UNI Panhellenic Council
Closed
Off Campus
Conversations, Coffee, and Lap Blankets - Friendship Village
Volunteers will host a Conversation and Coffee Hour with Friendship Village residents as well as create lap blankets for residents in the memory care unit.
Partner: Culture & Intensive English Program
Closed
Off Campus
Yard Work for Foster Families - Cedar Valley Angels
Volunteers will provide foster families with spring yard work and light outdoor projects.
Partner: Cedar Valley Angels, Languages & Literatures, Alpha Xi Delta
Closed
Off Campus
Hearst Lecture featuring Gabby Giffords - Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her longtime speech-language pathologist, Dr. Fabi Hirsch Kruse, will speak at the 2026 Hearst Lecture. The event will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. April 8, 2026, in the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center
Partner: UNI Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Closed
On Campus
Making Garden Art - Cedar Rock State Park
Volunteers will making stained glass and copper plant stakes to be sold at the Friends of the Cedar Rock gift shop. All proceeds will support the preservation of the historical Walter House.
Partner: Recreation, Tourism, and Nonprofit Leadership Majors
Closed
On Campus
Mapping Routes for City, Trails, and UNI Clean Up
Students in GIS class will map the routes and locations for trail clean ups throughout the Cedar Valley.
Partner: Geographic Information Systems II: GEOG 4320
Closed
On & Off Campus
Painting boards for summer camp - Children's Cancer Connection
Art students will design and paint camp boards for Camp Heart Connection summer camps.
Partner: Children's Cancer Connection
Closed
Off Campus