Panther Service Day
We need YOU to help make Panther Service Day a success! We will be sending over 200 Panthers out into the community to help complete 2 hour service projects for local non profits like Aikman Wildlife Adventure, Ashmore Community, Douglas Hart Nature Preserve, and Hazel Anne Farms!! Help us make our community stronger! Register by April 7 to guarantee yourself a spot!
This annual day of volunteering and service began in 2003, when EIU Student Government initiated an effort to improve the relationship between EIU students and the citizens of Charleston through encouragement of acts of volunteerism and service in the community.
PSD 2023 will take place on Saturday April 15 in the morning. Checkin will be at 9:15am in McAfee North Gym. All projects will be back to campus by 12:30pm. Transportation will be provided for all participants. See descriptions of projects below.
Individual Volunteers: CLICK HERE to register for all events! Just look for the projects that say “Panther Service Day.”
Group Volunteers (Teams of 5 volunteers or More): Please CLICK HERE to register your group today!
Panther Service Day Volunteer Options
- 5 Mile House: General clean-up in the yard, garden, house, and barn. Possibly some painting/paint scraping and spreading mulch.
- Aikman Wildlife: Volunteers will be helping with projects including preparing for the summer season and taking stuff out of the recently purchased building next door. If you have work gloves,bring them with you. Some will be provided.
- Camp New Hope (FULL): Light grounds work including cleaning, painting, raking & picking up sticks. Getting ready for summer camps and helping with the Easter Party.
- Charleston Area Dog Club: Volunteers will be helping clear out a shed with all the equipment for training, helping with cleaning, carrying heavy items, and organizing the equipment.
- Choices Pregnancy & Health (FULL): Spring cleaning inside, sorting through donations, outside work including painting, cleaning, yard work.
- Community Aid - Ashmore: Ashmore is a small and rural community located just east of Charleston. Although small, Ashmore is full of hardworking, community focused people. You will be working outside planting flowers, cleaning up the local park, painting picnic benches, helping wash the fire trucks, and more!
- Douglas Hart Nature Center: Volunteers are invited to join Douglas Hart in helping the Earth. Leaders will help you with trail clean up, planting trees, removing invasive plants like honey suckle bushes, and improving the forest at the Douglas Hart Nature Center. We recommend wearing long pants and closed-toed shoes as pending good weather, you will be working outdoors.
- Fit-2-Serve: Helping expand garden to include a vine portion. This will require garden bed prep and cage installation for vine plants. Installing an irrigation system. At headquarters, creating a sensory garden. Close shoes and dirty clothes recommended.
- Grand Prairie Friends: Garlic Mustard is an invasive plant that spreads very rapidly in the woodlands. While enjoying the beauitful environment, we will be looking for this plant and removing it.
- Hazel Anne Farm: is a local farm that helps support organizations dealing with hunger, and food insecurity, which is why we like to help them out when we can! Volunteers will spreading mulch and prepping for the summer growing season. Closed toed shoes and work/winter gloves are strongly recommended!
- Whiteside Garden: Volunteers will be working in the garden doing weeding, spring garden prep and other hands on projects.