Student Volunteers of the Month: Full Circle Food Pantry

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The student volunteers for the Full Circle Campus Food Pantry have been selected as the Volunteer Action Center’s Student Volunteer of the Month for the month of April. This marks the first time that a group has been selected for this award.

Full Circle opened on Feb. 3 and since then the group has collectively amassed over 396 service hours. The Full Circle Campus Food Pantry was established as an emergency food assistance program that distributes food and personal products to all members of the University of Arkansas community. Full Circle is a student run program that offers an accessible, compassionate and dignified environment to provide for the nutritional needs of the University of Arkansas Community so they can fully focus on their education.

While at Full Circle, the student volunteers have contributed by receiving donations and stocking shelves, filing paperwork, cleaning the pantry, and filling food requests. The students have established a warm and welcoming environment for those who use the pantry.

Through their collective efforts, they have created an experience that affirms Full Circle’s motto, “Nourishing bodies, empowering minds, and building a community of compassion.” Julia Lyon, the student responsible for the operation of and coordination of volunteers for Full Circle, said of the student volunteers, “Full Circle relies not only on their responsibility, but thrives on their kindness and compassion.”  Congratulations to Full Circle’s student volunteers on receiving this well-deserved honor.

• Emily Nevala
• Julia Lyon
• Jessica Boyd
• Ramie Parsons
• Jared Morphew
• Lindsey Trahan
• Kelli Jo Johnson
• Lauren Taylor
• Mikala Parton
• Mehak Gupta
• Stephen Dalby
• Anaja Edwards
• Spencer Hansen
• Taylor Gallagher
• Tiffany Campbell
• Kaylin Gilkey

The Volunteer of the Month Award seeks to recognize students at the University of Arkansas who are impacting the Northwest Arkansas Community through service.

The Center for Leadership and Community Engagement invites the campus community to nominate students who fit the qualifications. Applications are available at service.uark.edu and must be received by 5 p.m. on the 20th of each month in order to be considered. The Volunteer of the Month will be announced on the last Friday of each month. The winner will receive a certificate and be featured on the volunteer.uark.edu website. Additionally, each month's winner will automatically be nominated for the Volunteer Spirit Awards and the State of Arkansas volunteer awards.