On October 3, 2026, the Center for Community Engaged Learning and MSU Alumni hosted our annual Fall Spartan Day of Service. 352 volunteers joined our community partners at ten sites in Greater Lansing and two sites in Detroit.

One group of volunteers transplanted native species to create a natural barrier between a playground and a parking lot at the Refugee Development Center (RDC) and Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing (UU Lansing). “Student volunteering is a way for both RDC and the church to make connections to MSU,” said UU Lansing board president-elect Ralph Putnam. UU Lansing shares their space with the RDC to provide programs for Lansing newcomers of all ages. “We have a large property and it is hard to get all of this work done, so having MSU here makes it go green,” Putnam said.

Fall Day of Service volunteers collectively served 2,112 hours on a variety of gardening, cleanup, and resource sharing projects. Based on the hourly value of volunteer time in Michigan from the Independent Sector, this time created $71,259 of equivalent financial impact at partners served. At the Equine Center for Learning, students cleaned facilities and grounds ahead of a fundraising event for the construction of this partner’s new Scholar’s Stable.

“It is incredibly helpful and kind for everyone to come and help us get ready for this event,” said Equine Center arena programming coordinator Charlotte Zielke. “We could not do all of this just with our staff and our few volunteers that are able to help. The extra hands help us get everything done and make sure all the details are perfect.”

This year, the Fall Spartan Day of Service was supported by a grant for 9/11 Day. As a part of a national movement to transform the anniversary of 9/11 into America’s Day of Doing Good, the Day of Service carried this legacy into the semester with a new site hosted by the Mid-Michigan chapter of the American Red Cross. At this site, members of the Honors College Service Club canvassed Lansing’s Groesbeck neighborhood with home fire safety information and resources for free smoke alarm installation.

“Home fires are one of the most impactful disasters we face when it comes to fatalities, so this program is one of the most significant things that we do,” said American Red Cross of Michigan senior disaster program manager Sarah Hemminger. “We don’t have enough volunteers to help with this program within the Red Cross, so we’re constantly recruiting and looking for additional help. To introduce young people to this kind of work in their community is a fantastic way to build resiliency.”

Community partners for this Day of Service also included Allen Neighborhood Center; Beal Botanical Garden and Campus Arboretum; Eastside Community Action Center; Edgewood Village Housing Nonprofit; the MSU-Detroit Partnership for Food, Learning and Innovation; Potter Park Zoo; Rescue Nature Now; South Lansing Urban Gardens; and Webster Farms.

The Center for Community Engaged Learning and MSU Alumni give special thanks to AmeriCorps, 9/11 Day, and MSU Federal Credit Union for their support of this event. We also thank our community partners for welcoming our students as well as our volunteers for giving their time to make a difference. Our Spring Spartan Day of Service will be held on April 17, 2027.