Students will have the opportunity to explore a variety of different ways to have fun while giving back to the community during Wednesday’s volunteer fair.

The event, which will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union, is open to students, faculty and community members to introduce them to many different ways of helping others.

“The volunteer fair is important because it is a visual representation of the needs in our community,” said Rachel Mullen, senior in English and executive director of outreach for the 10,000 Hours Show. “We are lucky to have so many great nonprofit organizations in our community, but seeing them and talking with the people that work at them really makes you see the power that you have in making a difference.”

The fair will host more than 30 nonprofit agencies from the area and allow them to share volunteering experiences, information about their group and ways students can get involved in volunteering.

“I think the volunteer fair is a great way for people to become more aware of opportunities in the community,” said Ann Mincks, senior in English and 10,000 Hours organizations relations member. “Sometimes, as students, we get really caught up in homework and hanging out with friends, and we forget there are other experiences in volunteering that can really help people and make a difference.”

Mullen said the 10,000 Hours Show puts on a volunteer fair every semester to ensure volunteers are getting connected with the nonprofits that need volunteers in Ames. It has also worked with Liberal Arts and Sciences Career Services to host the Social Services Volunteer and Career Day in the fall, but it has always hosted its own in the spring.

“It’s not just something we got involved with,” Mincks said. “It’s something we feel needs to be done – both for the benefit of the volunteers who want to help and the nonprofits that need the help.”

Mullen said the fair is partially funded by a grant from the United Way of Story County. It also works in close connection with the Volunteer Center of Story County. The center played a key role in this year’s fair, as it spread the word of the event to all of its nonprofits. With such a large number of organizations, there is bound to be one to fit each person’s need.

“There is such a wide variety of groups that will be there,” Mullen said. “Anyone can find something that is a good fit for them or could find something completely different from anything they had ever tried before.”

Both Mullen and Mincks encourage all students to attend and find something they’d like to volunteer for.

“Volunteering allows us to be in situations we may never have encountered without it,” Mullen said.

“Who knows, you could find an undying passion for building houses, teaching a child or even working for a nonprofit someday.”