Giving back to the community has proven itself time and time again as a beneficial practice to not only the benefactor of the service and to those providing the service, but to the entire surrounding community.

And at our university this notion rings true as well.

Through the success of NKU programs and events such as the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project, Service On Saturday and the Homecoming Canstruction canned-food drive, just to name a few, it is evident that many members of our NKU community understand the importance and benefits of giving back.

In the Mayerson Student Philanthropy program, students are able to take the course material they are learning and apply it to the real-world, not only helping the beneficiaries but the students too, as the real-world application further solidifies the learning process.

In service projects such as Service on Saturday, student organizations come together to serve local and regional businesses, nonprofits, parks, nursing homes, churches and more.

Also, just in the past weeks, the university has held several events to support the community.

Child’s Play and Relay for Life were two events held at NKU on the very same day. Child’s Play was a 24-hour charity event organized by students, where participants played video games to raise money for organizations. Relay for Life was a “fun-filled overnight” walk where participants helped raise money for cancer research and programs through the American Cancer Society.

So you may be asking yourself, with all these opportunities, “what are the drawbacks?”

And to be quite honest, there aren’t many.

But, as busy students, professors, administrators and staff, we all get caught up in our own lives.

So, how can we make time to give back to others when we barely have time for ourselves?

Even if you may not have time to plan a big event or service project on your own, there are always things going on around us.

From doing something as simple as donating a canned food item, to volunteering an hour or two a week at a local animal shelter, there is always a plethora of opportunities available in our community for us to help make an impact.

And what an impact, we can make.

We, at The Northerner, think it is of the utmost importance that everyone take advantage of all the opportunities to give back that surround us. Because there is always good to be done.

And, after all, we are all part of this community, so we should give back when we can, no matter how small the act may seem.