Instead of spending their Saturday morning sleeping in, more than 100 students at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith volunteered around the city with various organizations to help pick up trash, paint walls, and organize storage units.  

 

The selfless work was part of the University’s Lion Community Outreach Day, an annual event where UAFS students take to Fort Smith for four hours of community service.

 

The 100-plus participants more than doubled the participation from last year, as students took advantage of the chance to volunteer at seven nonprofit organizations in Fort Smith with work that benefited both the city and the event’s volunteers.

 

“Lion Community Outreach Day is a wonderful event that allows UAFS students and staff to give back to the community,” said student Mariah Warren of Fort Smith, the Lion Community Outreach Day coordinator. “We do a variety of jobs to help the organizations out in any way that we can. This is a great activity for the students, because they are connecting with the community to help make it a better place.”

 

Students began working at locations across the city shortly after 9 a.m. -- including the Hannah House, We Care Foundation and the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center -- and finished at 1 p.m.

 

Stephanie London of Fort Smith, student activities event coordinator, said the annual event has become a custom at UAFS.  

 

“Lion Community Outreach Day is truly a tradition now on our campus, and it’s a great partnership with area non-profit organizations,” she said. “The organizations truly appreciate the students volunteering their time on a Saturday to improve their facilities.”

 

Participants, by town of residence, were:

 

Alma: James Batura and Andrea Wolfe.

 

Altus: Shaiyanikha Her.

 

Barling: Thao Cao.

 

Bentonville: Michael McCarthy and Tiffany McCarthy.

 

Bonanza: Talia Blanton.

 

Charleston: Meagan Crosby, Joyce Lee and Brooke Slaton.

 

China: Minzhi Hickerson.

 

Fayetteville: Lorene Russell.

 

Fort Smith: Faith Abernathy, Matthew Beyer, Lina Bui, Steven Cancel, Jennifer Connell, Trevor Cooper, Hannah Crawford, Zack Gramlich, Krystal Gunselman, Kimberly Hosier, Michele Howard, Jessica Kinsey, Joseph Koller, Angela Lamon, Tyler Lamon, Elizabeth Larru, Samuel Lisk, Robert Lopez, Chris Madera, Kayla Madera, Rene Manjarrez, Anthony Nguyen, Sylvia Nguyen, Giau Pham, Peter Pham, Allison Reeves, Mikayla Rich, Jose Rivera, Pamela Rosales, Emma Shockley, Kaitlyn Sullivan, Gini Vandalak, Brittany Volchoz, Tianduo Wang and Nit Xaymongkhoun.

 

Greenwood: Beau Barrera, Rebecca Bolton, Benjamin Mitchell, Austin Payton, Rebecca Peters, Casey Steward and Cole Thomas.

 

Japan: Marina Ishii, Anna Ishioka, Yuki Iwai, Yoko Kusunoki, Sho Kumagai, Arisa Machida, Midori Maki, Hiroki Murano, Ayaka Nitta, Akiko Ochiai, Naho Otani, Ayu Saito, Minami Suyama, Arisa Terasaki, Tatsuya Tezuka, Marika Watanabe, Yuriko Yagi and Shuhei Yamashita.

 

Lavaca: Ciara Fleer and Brittany Sullivan.

 

Magazine: Courtney Bryan.

 

Mansfield: Jasmine Hattabaugh.

Marble City: Aubrey Hale.

 

Mena: Kristen Hooper, Alicia Looney, Kayla Stone and Michaela Rodgers.

 

Milwaukee, Wis.: Kristina Pringle.

 

Niger: Rasila Sounama.

 

Ozark: Lillian Howerton.

 

Plainview: Adrienne Ackley.

 

Poteau, Okla.: Amera Covert.

 

Roland, Okla.: Quinton Bark and Macey Casher.

 

Rose Bud: Sami Jo Anderton.

 

Siloam Springs: Brandy Cox, Brett Cox and Kevin Cox.

 

Spiro, Okla.: Domanique Johnson.

 

Thailand: Luke Kongkamon.

 

Van Buren: Christina Cox, Pollet Delgado, Hayley Howard and Anna Tennant.

 

Vietnam: Jack Bui, Thanh Bui, Jason Ho and Vinh Vo.

 

Waldron: Heather Arms.