Winter break was an exciting time for people who love to volunteer. The Volunteer Center hosted three days of events for students to get involved in their local community.  

Little John’s is a new organization currently located in Verona. Their mission is all about repurposing excess food into meals for people in need. Tobu Mone was one of the volunteers who participated from Madison College. 

“I enjoyed working with other people and getting to know them, but the most important thing, I was happy to be able to volunteer and contribute to the community. Also, the activities were fun,” Mone said.  

The on-campus day was a relaxing time to get our minds off of homework by making greeting cards and decorating kindness rocks. I found out I don’t have a lot of creative juice when it comes to decorating greeting cards, although Moments Hospice will put them to good use.  

The kindness rocks were a unique idea that people don’t hear about often. It was fun to know that words of encouragement would be passed on to someone else, but also got me in a positive thinking space.  

The Ronald McDonald House was a popular choice for volunteering pre-COVID-19. This is first year reopening for volunteers. The Madison College volunteer group researched a meal for 35 people and grocery shopped at Hy-Vee to gather the ingredients. The group received a tour of the new renovated space after preparing the meal.  

Tassara Clark volunteered all three days and responded, “I loved volunteering with everyone! It was great to interact with and get to know other volunteers from Madison College, while making an impact on the local community.”