FAU’s Community Service Club (CSC) and Student Government’s Student Advocating Volunteer Involvement (SAVI) will be hosting a Service Carnival event this Friday, March 31, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Diversity Lawn. This is the first time that an event of this nature will be held at FAU.

SAVI and CSC additionally will be providing food, such as pizza, chicken tenders and chips at the service carnival.

There will be different local organizations participating at the service carnival, such as In Jacob Shoes, The Atrium at Boca Raton, SOS Children’s Villages, The Gift of Life, and Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League. 

SAVI held a competition called “Vowlunteer Tank ” where different registered student organizations and individuals were welcomed to submit any type of volunteer or service idea and SAVI would fund the event. 

Michaella Louis, the founder and president of CSC, submitted her idea to SAVI for the service carnival. 

Juan Andrès Rodriguez, the director of SAVI, explained that there was a selected group of people chosen to ask questions based on the pitches to help determine if it was plausible based on restrictions and the budget.  They liked all the ideas that were submitted, however, it was Louis’ pitch that had stood out. In their eyes the service carnival was a clear winner from the rest of the submissions.

 “She was the most prepared and she had like a lot of things that we liked about it. She already knew all the orgs that are going to be in it,” shared Rodriguez.

At the service carnival, there will also be different service opportunities that students can participate in.

Louis revealed that there will be opportunities to clean shoes, make bracelets and decorate duffle bags and rocks, all of which will be donated to their respective organizations.

Students attending can receive two service hours for participating in the carnival, in addition to hours for any donations made to any of the organizations.

There have been multiple donation drives preceding the event, one of which is at the moment ongoing. Students can donate toiletries, books, and games for The Atrium at Boca Raton. Contact Community Service Club via email at [email protected] or instagram direct message for the drop-off location.

“So originally, we kept having a lot of donation drives before we started promoting the service carnival. So people were like, ‘Why do so many donation drives?  But really we did the donation drives because we were leading them to the service carnival,” shared  Louis.

If students wanted to make donations but could not during the donation drives, they can bring their contributions to the carnival for The Atrium at Boca Raton, along with the other participating organizations. In Jacob’s Shoes is accepting donations of new socks and new/gently worn shoes. Peggy Adams Animal Rescue welcomes any pet food, litter, training pads, collars, toys, and beds. SOS Children’s Village appreciates any cleaning products, hygiene products, and snacks. 

Additionally, Gift of Life Marrow Registry will be participating in the service carnival. Students can join the registry to donate bone marrow and stem cells.

 “You’ll be put into the registry and they’ll contact you if somebody is in need or if you’re matched with somebody and you can donate,” shared Rodriguez.

 Ailin Velazquez, a communication studies major with a public relations minor, is eager to attend the service carnival and believes that events like these are good for the local community and help bring people together.

“It’s a great opportunity to help those in need as well as meeting new people,” Velazquez shared. “I’m excited to help the organizations like the Peggy Adams Hospital, and the other ones and just make things with my hands which are like the suncatchers, bracelets, cat toys.”

For more information about this event, contact CSC at [email protected] or SAVI on Instagram at faubocasavi.

Isabella Mohammed is a contributing writer at the University Press. For more information on this story or others, reach out to her at [email protected].