Columbus State University News

Annual Day of Service inspires Columbus State students to serve with empathy

August 24, 2026

A three-panel composite graphic featuring Columbus State University student volunteers in red "Day of Service" t-shirts. Left panel: a smiling young woman posing in front of a colorful mural. Middle panel: a young man wiping down a black granite memorial wall. Right panel: a smiling young woman leaning on a wooden donation bin.

On Saturday, Aug. 22, Columbus State University volunteers participated in the 19th annual Day of Service, aiding 15 local nonprofit and community groups. Nearly 250 students, along with faculty and staff, collectively contributed 625 volunteer hours to support the community.

“At Columbus State, leading with care and serving others is just who we are,” explained President Stuart Rayfield. “True leadership starts with empathy, and our annual Day of Service is all about students putting our core value of servant leadership into action. It’s a wonderful opportunity for our students to jump in, connect with our local partners, and make a real, positive difference in the community we love.” 

Student volunteers spent the morning engaged in projects ranging from cleaning, painting and organizing to gardening, landscaping and dog-walking. At Turn Around Columbus, Alana Hankerson and her Women’s Basketball teammates focused on gardening at the Dr. George Washington Carver Victory Garden & Farm, a site that tackles food insecurity and functions as a community resource and agricultural education center.

A smiling young woman in a red "Columbus State University Day of Service" t-shirt stands outdoors in front of a colorful painted mural. The mural reads "Turn Around Columbus" and "George Washington Carver Victory Garden & Farm" alongside a portrait of George Washington Carver.
The Charlotte, North Carolina, native and sophomore majoring in chemistry (pictured above) credited volunteerism opportunities like Day of Service with helping her “to learn more about the community that supports us. It’s important for us to get out and fill a need.”

A volunteer group comprised of ROTC Cougar Battalion cadets and various fraternities, sororities and student organizations descended on the National Infantry Museum. There, they cleaned outdoor monuments that memorialize soldiers’ heroism spanning the Korean and Vietnam wars to the Global War on Terrorism.

A young man in a gray jacket and a Columbus State University Day of Service t-shirt leans forward to wipe down the polished black granite panels of a memorial wall filled with engraved names.
ROTC cadet and freshman finance major Rafael Mendez of Augusta, Georgia (pictured above), said serving at the museum was a special opportunity: “Coming from a military background myself, some of the role models that I have hold places like this very dear to their hearts. They have family members who have served in the conflicts that are memorialized here. Cleaning and maintaining these monuments is a simple way I can honor the values they’ve instilled in me.”

At Sleep in Heavenly Peace, the CSU Softball team helped build and stain beds for children without a bed at home. The local chapter, part of an international organization, is an ongoing community service project of the University Police Department, whose representatives joined student-athletes like Emmalee Freeman in the effort.

A smiling young woman wearing a red "Columbus State University Day of Service" t-shirt rests her arm on a wooden bunk bed for the "Stuff the Bunk Bedding Drive," hosted by the nonprofit organization Sleep in Heavenly Peace.
“This is awesome—especially being new, it’s good to get out and learn about the city and how you can give back to it,” said the junior majoring in nursing who transferred to Columbus State this fall (pictured above). “Volunteering like this brings everyone together.”

“Our student experience at Columbus State is built around moments when people show up willing to serve, listen and create a place where students feel they belong,” explained Kimberly Scranage, chief student experience officer. “Efforts like our Day of Service that prove that servant leadership starts with showing up to give back to the community our students call home.”

At $36.14 per hour—the current value of volunteer time in Georgia set by the nonprofit Independent Sector—Columbus State’s service equated to a single-day monetary impact of $22,587.50 on the 15 nonprofit organizations.

Those Day of Service partners included Boyz 2 Men Development, Columbus Area Habitat for Humanity, the Columbus Museum, Dorothy I. Height Elementary School, the Family House of West Georgia, the Humane Society of Harris County, the National Infantry Museum, the Oaks at Grove Park, CSU’s Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center, Paws Humane Society, SafeHouse Ministries, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley, Turn Around Columbus and the YMCA of Metropolitan Columbus.

Day of Service marks the conclusion of the university’s two-week fall semester Cougar Kickoff series, which began with the First-Year Student Convocation on Aug. 7 and included the grand reopening of the Davidson Student Center on Aug. 11. Those and other Division of Student Experience events like Cougar Kickoff are coordinated by the Office of Student Life & Development and connect students with each other, the campus and the community. Other Cougar Kickoff events featured information fairs on personal wellness, Greek Life, volunteerism and interfaith programs, as well as activities like College Night at the Clingstones and whitewater rafting.

More photos from the 19th annual Day of Service are available on the university’s Flickr account.

Media contact:  Michael Tullier, APR