EUGENE, Ore. -- (Oct. 22, 2013) – More than 100 University of Oregon students and faculty are planning to participate in Make a Difference Day, a national event on Oct. 26 to give back service to local communities.

The UO’s Holden Center for Leadership and Community Engagement is partnering with community organizations for service projects from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 26.  Projects will benefit Arc of Lane County, Cascades Raptor Center, Greenhill Humane Society, Nearby Nature, the Schoolhouse Garden at Edison Elementary, and Sponsor’s Inc.

Projects include spending time with children with disabilities, helping with maintenance and landscaping, and refinishing the exterior of a transitional housing facility.

UO Make a Difference Day is hosted by Duck Corps, a program at the Holden Center.  Established five years ago as an entry point to students for direct service opportunities, it now has more than 700 registered students.

Duck Corps allows students to search volunteer opportunities based on their interests and skills. UO students, faculty and staff, and community members can visit Duck Corps online  to register and participate in Make a Difference Day or to search all other volunteer opportunities.   

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

MEDIA CONTACT: Hannah Aten, UO Holden Center Community Engagement Coordinator, 541-346-4351, atenh@uoregon.edu

Note: The University of Oregon is equipped with an on-campus television studio with a point-of-origin Vyvx connection, which provides broadcast-quality video to networks worldwide via fiber optic network. In addition, there is video access to satellite uplink, and audio access to an ISDN codec for broadcast-quality radio interviews.

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