For most of the UI student population, Saturdays are for two things: sleeping and Hawkeye football.

But some students are finding time to add a different activity to the list: community service.

A small group of students spent their Saturday cleaning up around Old Brick, 26 E. Market St., choosing volunteering over getting an early start tailgating for the Penn State game on Sept. 26.

Students laughed and talked as they raked and bagged leaves, learning more about each other and finding joy in volunteering.

Saturdays in Service is a new program sponsored by University Housing that offers students a chance to give back to the community.

Ben Parks, the Hillcrest Hall coordinator and chairman of the Saturdays in Service committee, said the program is open to all students, but he encouraged first-year students in particular to get familiar with Iowa City.

“By going out into the community, you get a better sense for, and appreciation for, the greater community,” Parks said.

Erin Gorman, who works with AmeriCorps VISTA and helped pick up leaves over the weekend, said these experiences help students become a part of the community.

“Students are learning different ways to connect to the community,” Gorman said.

UI junior Brandon Pearson said the value of the program goes beyond any specific project.

“I really like what we’re doing,” he said. “I think it helps give college students a better reputation around the community.”

The program partners with local agencies to create a variety of projects. On Sept. 26, students also worked at Lake Macbride on a trail-restoration project, and at the first session, on Aug. 24, students built walls for Habitat for Humanity and worked with the Preemie Project, which does knitting work for premature and critically ill patients.

Parks said program officials look to create a wide range of projects that appeal to all students.

“What we are hearing more and more from students is that they want these things,” he said. “Our goal is to put people with what they are interested in and passionate about.”

Students can get involved through a listserv, and Parks said that soon, students will be able to sign up on the University Housing website. He also said the program created a Facebook page in an attempt to make it as accessible as possible to students. But Parks made it clear that it’s up to the students to go beyond one-day projects and get truly involved.

“While we are making that initial connection, we are asking students to take that next step and make a commitment,” he said.

Later he noted, “Even one-time volunteering things I think can be powerful.”

For students such as Pearson who said he would continue to attend the service events, volunteering is indeed powerful.

“It’s just that feeling that you’re helping out and you’re doing something to make this community that we live in a better place,” he said.