On Sunday, Aug. 31, Augustana’s Office of Student Life (OSL) announced, in an email to the student body, a new community service group called Participate. This program will offer students opportunities to give back to the local community through volunteering.
Participate aims to connect Augustana students with the larger Quad Cities community through meaningful philanthropy experiences. Every month, the group will partner with two local nonprofit organizations to provide students with hands-on service.
Participate events are organized by the OSL’s Leadership Academy Co-chairs, seniors Rachel Byrne and Fay Fqiyah. Byrne said the program aims to inspire students to lend a hand outside of campus grounds.
“Participate gives more opportunities to do off-campus [work],” Byrne said. “One of our biggest [objectives] is providing transportation for people who don’t have access to a car and allowing them to still get service hours.”
Unlike some service groups at Augustana, Byrne said members are not required to pay any dues or complete a set amount of service per semester. She said the program aims to be low-commitment for students, while also allowing them to find personal fulfillment in volunteer work.
“[Students] can pick and choose what [they] want to do,” Byrne said. “If you’re really passionate about working at animal shelters, we’re going to have an event at the Quad City Animal Welfare Center in November.”
On Wednesday, Sept. 10, Hodge Park in Rock Island hosted the Party in the Park Lantern Parade. In a partnership with the Rock Island Public Library, Participate members helped with the event by handing out lantern supplies to attendees.
Emma Helms, a junior transfer at Augustana, decided to volunteer after hearing about the event from her friend. Helms, along with other volunteers, played an important role in making the event a success by passing out materials.
“As a transfer student, I felt like I was more connected to student life, and it was nice to be able to serve the community with students who aren’t transfers,” Helms said. “I had fun with the event and enjoyed getting to meet new people and be involved in my community.”
Lisa Lockheart, marketing manager at Rock Island Public Library, said that Participate volunteers made the event successful. Lockheart stated that the lantern parade is an old Rock Island tradition that was brought back in 2024 to celebrate the library’s 150th anniversary. Lockheart also shared that there were approximately 160 community members at the event, with 10 of them being Participate volunteers.
“[Augustana] students showed up and helped us hand out materials and helped assist people with the process of making lanterns so they could participate in the parade. Having that many more hands available extended our ability to work with the public,” Lockheart said.
