Every year hundreds of Gannon students file into the Hammermill Center to collect their GIVE Day shirts and free coffee and donuts.

We all sit together for a prayer, listen to a few stories and then depart to our various destinations.

Gannon’s Invitation to Volunteer Everywhere Day is a chance for the Gannon community to give back to Erie. Alumni continue this tradition throughout the world, but Gannon’s main impact on the annual day is Erie.

Community service is great. It is something that helps build character, grow community relationships and it is a chance to impact the environment in a positive way.

But, as Gannon students we shouldn’t be only giving our community four hours once a year during an “anual event”– it should be continued throughout the whole year.

Nonprofit organizations, schools, charities and other members of the community deserve our volunteer efforts year round. Even if it is only for an hour every week — that is still an hour of volunteer work the organization or charity didn’t have before.

There are a lot of events hosted by Gannon where volunteers are desperately needed. Even if you may not be from Erie or even from the United States, helping one town helps the world.

Picking up garbage helps to maintain the Erie environment, especially down by Lake Erie. Organizations and people in the community will not turn down volunteer work because there is always something that needs done.

GIVE Day shouldn’t be viewed as annual event – it should be something we participate in daily.