On Saturday, 1,600 students signed up through Volunteer UCF for the 6th Annual Knights Give Back.
“Its one giant UCF day for students to all come together and give back to the community,” said Ryan Silverstein, Volunteer UCF student director.
Students gathered at the UCF Venue early morning where they were greeted with 24 buses parked and ready to escort students to 18 of the different volunteer sites. Before loading on to the buses, students pumped themselves up by dancing on the gymnasium floor to songs such as the South Korean hit single “Gangnam Style” and the “Cha Cha Slide Song”.
Knight’s Give Back is a campus-wide event hosted and coordinated by Volunteer UCF with the goal to make a difference in the Central Florida community for at least one day. The event was first launched in 2007 and this year marks the sixth year that Volunteer UCF has held this event.
“It’s about making a difference, hearing how you helped people, or how I helped people, it’s always good to hear you helped someone,” said Khari Fischer, 19, criminal justice student.
Fischer is part of the Domestic Violence Committee on campus and is helping with site management for the Midway Safe Harbor Fall festival on Oct. 31.
After volunteering at different sites, students met back on campus where they were provided lunch from Jimmy Johns.
Volunteer UCF has provided over 3,000 volunteers, has participated in over 11,000 hours of community service, and has saved Orlando over $200,000.
Students volunteered at the following sites: Avian Reconditioning Center, Quest Camp Thunderbird, Apopka Family Learning Center, Wekiva Springs, Mustard Seed, Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Community Food and Outreach Center, Clean the World, Winter Park Towers, Orlando Day Nursery, Orlando Health Rehabilitation Center, Albin Polasek Museum, Greenwood Cemetery, Fern Creek Elementary School, S.E.R.V, Seminole Safe House, Oyster Mats and Dressed in Hope.
