Ninety of UNI’s 250 student organizations and 28 non-profit organizations took part in the annual Student Involvement Fair on Thursday. That’s according to Ashley Minshall, Program Coordinator at the Student Involvement Center.

This was the first time the Student Involvement Center, the Non-profit Leadership Alliance and Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley have collaborated for a Student Involvement Fair.

According to Minshall, “When students get involved, it is the quality of your involvement and not the quantity.”

Christina Hackbart, junior leisure, youth and human services major, feels that having non-profit and volunteer organizations on campus helps students that have volunteer requirements in their major. She said these organizations provide networking opportunities for students.

“I think … getting involved, not only on campus, but off campus, is super important just for stronger community,” said Hackbart.

Stacy Baranowski, Eucalyptus Tree Program Coordinator at Cedar Valley Hospice, presented at the fair in hopes of recruiting good volunteers for her program. In the past, she said taking part in volunteer fairs at UNI has proven beneficial.

Eucalyptus Tree has offices in Waterloo but serves 13 counties in North East Iowa, said Carly Pollock, Outreach and Communication Specialist of Cedar Valley Hospice.

Well-known organizations on campus, such as UNI Dance Marathon and CAB (Campus Activities Board) also had booths at the fair. Other organizations, such as St. Stephen the Witness, UNI Ballroom/Swing, Camp Adventure and a number of Greek organizations were present as well.

Love Your Melon, a relatively new organization on campus, took part in the fair for the first time to recruit members, spread awareness and pass out promotional gear.

The campus organization was established last spring, according to Melissa Miller, President of Love Your Melon UNI Campus Crew.

“We’re a non-profit organization dedicated to improving lives of children battling cancer,” said Miller.

Each purchase of Love Your Melon merchandise provides a hat to children with cancer, and a portion of the proceeds also help cover costs for cancer patients and cancer research, said Miller. The remaining proceeds cover therapeutic events hosted by the organization.

According to Miller, the campus crew has 20 initial members, known as the “focus group,” while their waitlist and volunteer list continues to grow, with approximately 100 new members signed up at the Student Involvement Fair.

Contact information for the organizations at the fair can be found on the online UNI Student Organizations Directory, for those who could not attend but are interested in more information.