Ever thought about playing an active role on campus, but haven't found an outlet on top of a growing workload? From lending a hand to preschool children to traveling and learning about the world, the UW is brimming with a plethora of volunteer opportunities for the next generous Husky to take up the initiative.

If you're looking for an opportunity to genuinely become more involved in your city, school or even state, here's the chance to showcase your skills, learn new ones and discover what it's like to be socially connected and aware.

Students today understand just how important it is to sacrifice hours raising money for underpriviledged children instead of running rampant at a raucous house party. Many students also realize that volunteering is advantageous not just because it adds another gold star to their resumes.

Last year, CNN released a report indicating that the volunteer spirit is high among the collegiate sector. "The number of college students volunteering grew more than 20 percent, from 2.7 million to 3.3 million, between 2002 and 2005, according to a study being released Monday by the Corporation for National & Community Service, a federal agency. The growth rate for college students is more than double that for all volunteers," the report stated.

Many of the groups that exist on campus, or are affiliated with the UW, offer rewarding experiences in highly interesting areas of study and achievement.

The UW Pipeline Project is a prime example of undergraduates contributing to the community by providing tutoring and mentoring services to children in grades K-12. The Pipeline Project regularly recruits every quarter and conducts their orientations at Mary Gates Hall room 120. It also holds seminars and promotes the Alternative Spring Break, where students travel to rural Washington students to work on literacy projects.

The Burke Museum is another venue where students can do a variety of volunteer jobs, like helping with craft activities, performing school tours and assisting in research collections. A museum of natural history and culture, the Burke Museum was founded in 1885 and is the oldest museum in Washington. Students with an affinity for the social sciences will find this location fascinating on many levels.

Brian Richards, director of visitor services for the Burke Museum, has headed the department since March of this year.

"We have over 200 volunteers," Richards said. "But not all of them are active."

Richards is currently working to move the entire volunteer system online, so that the various department coordinators for volunteers can access and record the correct information for their museum volunteers.

"Unfortunately we are restructuring our volunteer program, and I am not prepared to handle new volunteers at this time," Richards said.

He said he hopes to have the new structure in place so the program can begin to inform and recruit students and UW departments by the end of the year.

To cap the essence of volunteering, the Carlson Leadership and Public Service Center makes it a driving mission to find and supply volunteer opportunities for students in various commitments.

Matthew Wojciakowski, community engagement coordinator for the Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center, explained that past volunteers have worked for Rising Out of the Shadows (ROOTS) by serving homeless youths, Elizabeth Gregory Home to support women in recovery, and EarthCorps to restore natural environments among other roles.

"Another major event for students to get involved in is the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service," Wojciakowski said. "The Day of Service takes place on Monday, January 21, 2008. Last year, over 1,200 UW volunteers participated in over 50 different community service projects around the greater Seattle community, commemorating Dr. King and re-igniting his dream that 'Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.'"

Some of the organizations that the center is involved with include the United Way of King County, SeattleWorks, an Americorps program called Students in Service, and the University of Washington Medical Center, where students can add to the quality of care and service to patients

Students in Service, a volunteer program that works under the Carlson Leadership umbrella, gives students the opportunity to obtain scholarships based on the amount of hours they contribute. For example, a 300-hour term of service provides a $1,000 Education Award. Students who achieve 900 hours of service can receive $2362.50 in scholarship money.

Although National Volunteer Week is in April, students can start preparing now for trips to countries like Guatemala and Ghana, where they can help build homes or conserve lakes, through Habitat for Humanity.

Ruby Linsao, senior site manager for Jumpstart, a group that encourages undergraduates to earn work-study funding through community service, believes that her organization connects undergraduates as tutors with low-income preschool children to help them build language, literacy, social relations and initiative skills.

"We are actively seeking undergraduates to join Jumpstart," Linsao said. "Students also participate in one-day service events like literacy nights, and at the end of spring quarter, we worked with one of our preschool partners, Denise Louie Education Center, to put on Children & Families Festival, where Jumpstart provided literacy activities and reading. The event also had entertainment, food, and information for families about service providers and resources."

Linsao wants Jumpstart to increase the number of UW students working with preschool children this year and improve the training provided to undergraduates by focusing more attention to cultural competency and advocacy.

Most of the preschoolers that Jumpstart supports come from immigrant and refugee communities.

"Over the last four years, almost 200 UW undergraduates have completed over 36,000 hours of service to Seattle preschool children through the Jumpstart program," Linsao said. "This year we will be recruiting at least 70 undergraduate students to complete at least 21,000 hours of service to children."

Wojciakowski echoed a similar theme.

This year, Jumpstart hopes to involve more students in their community than ever, having experiences that extend beyond the walls of the classroom and engaging with people in their community whom they may otherwise have ignored or disregarded, Wojciakowski said.

"By facilitating reciprocal partnerships between students and these community organizations, we hope to instill a sense of civic pride and responsibility in our students, as well as a sense of connection with our community partners," he said.

[Reach reporter Anthony Shelley at features@thedaily.washington.edu.]