Some 200 Hope College students will participate in service projects throughout the area through the college’s “Time to Serve” program on Saturday, Sept. 17.

Most of the students will be members of the freshman Class of 2026.  The students signed up shortly after their arrival at Hope, for the mass volunteer effort.

The students will be working in groups of five to 20 at 18 different sites from 9:30 a.m. to approximately 11:30 a.m. Projects are scheduled throughout the Holland and Zeeland area and will range from creating enrichment toys for animals at Harbor Humane Society, to serving meals at the Community Kitchen, to cleaning and light construction at the Critter Barn’s New Farm, to bundling diapers with Nestlings Diaper Bank, to groundskeeping and cleaning at many different organizations.

“Time to Serve,” which began in the fall of 2000, is designed to help new students learn about service while helping and getting to know their community and becoming better acquainted with one another.

Hope students volunteer in a variety of ways throughout the school year. In addition to “Time to Serve,” three prominent efforts at the college are “Hope Serves,” an annual January day of service led by Volunteer Services and the multicultural student organizations; the “Dance Marathon” charitable fund-raiser held on behalf of Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital of Grand Rapids; and the spring break service and immersion trip program, all of which involve students from across campus.