UNI Day of Service - The Impact
UNI’s inaugural Day of Service was an extraordinary success - a milestone in UNI’s 150-year story.
On a single extraordinary spring day, nearly 2,500 UNI Panthers fanned out across Cedar Falls, Waterloo, and surrounding communities to tackle more than 80 service projects.
What set this Day of Service apart was the integration of course connected service, where academic coursework in classes such as GIS mapping, education, health sciences, and the arts translated directly into measurable community impact. As UNI celebrates its 150th anniversary and Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, this milestone event embodied the university's foundation: that learning and service are inseparable. Panthers proved once again that when Cats Who Care come together, the ripple effects are truly endless. Thank you to each and every person that participated!
Thank you to the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley for your support and collaboration in making this day possible.
To all UNI faculty, staff and students, whether you participated or not; and to all our community partners that participated in the day, we’d like your feedback. Click here to take a short survey.
Community Impact
- Knowledge Sharing, Workforce & Community Learning
- 12 free online courses developed (Students in Instructional Design for Online Learning)
- 3 tourism nonprofits heard from 60 UNI students about what attracts them to a community (Grow Cedar Valley, Experience Waterloo, Community Main Street)
- 40 paperwork packets assembled (Friends of the Family)
- Digital Writing students produce language app (Meskwaki Language and Cultural Preservation)
- 60 UNI students generated 17 pitches for improving civic culture at UNI
- GIS classes produced maps to support bed deliveries and trash pickup projects
- Spring mailings prepared for the Cedar Falls Historical Society
- Education, Youth & Family Engagement
- Supported local schools with lunchroom and recess supervision (College of Education students & faculty)
- 16 families participated in math games and received take‑home math folders (Math Department)
- UNI athletes walked over 300 (combined) miles with elementary and middle school students
- 60 youth participated in a basketball skills and drills night with UNI basketball teams (Unite Hoops)
- UNI students educated others on business etiquette across 8 countries (International Club of Business Students)
- 1,500 guests attended the Hearst Lecture: Gabby Giffords & Fabi Hirsch Kruse
- Arts, Culture & Creative Engagement
- Assisted in building a community art project (Youth Art Team)
- 30 art glass garden stakes created, with potential to raise $3,000 (Recreation, Tourism, & Nonprofit Leadership majors & Friends of Cedar Rock)
- UNI students hosted 4 free concerts
- 8 podcasts reflecting Day of Service stories to be produced (UNI Cornerstone class)
- Painted large posters for Children's Cancer Connection summer camp (Art Department)
- Lap blankets created for residents at Friendship Village by UNI international students
- August Wilson Play Stage Reading
- Housing, Home Support & Community Infrastructure
- Built a desk, shelf, shoe rack, and can collection structure (American for Independent Living)
- 3 homes demolished/built and ReStore cleaned and organized (Construction Management & Interior Design majors & Habitat for Humanity)
- 4 picnic tables built for campus (Construction Management majors)
- A cemented flag pole installed for a local veteran (UNI Athletes)
- Environmental Sustainability & Outdoor Stewardship
- 107 lbs of trash picked up with Iowa Waste Reduction Center
- 320 lbs of solid waste collected across the city, trails, and campus (Kinesiology & Athletic Training faculty & students)
- Supported spring cleaning efforts for 4 nonprofits
- Completed yard, garden, and grounds work for 7 nonprofits/roadside areas
- Assisted 7 foster care families with yard work and garden preparation (Language and Literature faculty & students & Cedar Valley Angels)
- Potted 350 fruit trees and later distributed to various cultural and ethnic groups (School of Public Affairs and Service faculty and students)
- Food Security & Basic Needs
- Packed 60,048 meals, feeding 230 kids for a year (Meals from the Heartland)
- 469 lbs of food collected and donated to the Panther Pantry
- 10 students supported Hope City Food Panty
- 15 Athletes sorted and packed food for the North East Iowa Foodbank
- 151 beds delivered to families in need (Love INC; UNI wrestling, volleyball, and swim teams)
- 150 bed sheets donated (Athletics)
- 100 family kits prepared for Migrant Education Program agencies (Early Childhood Education class)
- 10 welcome/starter kits assembled for newly housed individuals ( Social Work majors & Friends of the Family)
- Community Health, Safety & Well‑Being
- 32 individuals increased their disaster readiness (Volunteer Center of the Cedar Valley)
- Hosted disease prevention screening
- Social work majors attended Hearing Voices Simulation to increase their understanding & empathy for those with mental illness
- 7 people participated in a bystander intervention (Green Dot Training)
- 27 units of blood were donated, sustaining or saving 81 lives (Nursing & LifeServe Blood Center)
- 35 people received free tax return assistance (VITA)
- Facilitated Special Olympics for 42 athletes at the YMCA (Goodwill clients)
- Painted 2 apartments at NewAldaya Senior Living Center
Celebrating Spring into Service: Cats Who Care
Thank you to:
- R.J. McElroy Trust & Veridian Credit Union whose support help make these service projects possible.
- St. Stephens the Witness Catholic Student Center, ThreeHouse Collaborative Campus Ministries, & Spiritual Leaders Association for sponsoring the food packing project.
- Servpro, Young Plumbing & Heating, Ashley Furniture & Fosters Mattress for helping deliver beds to those in need.
- See What I Mean Consulting for their leadership and facilitation with the Panther Innovation session.