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Alumni Month Of Service Logo

April is UNO Alumni Month of Service

April is National Volunteer Month and UNO Alumni Month of Service. To continue UNO’s legacy of community service, alumni and friends make pledges to volunteer throughout the month, giving back to their communities around the world. 

In 2024, 191 UNO alumni and friends donated 1,874 hours of community service! Join us in reaching our goal of 2,000 volunteer hours in 2025! 

Ideas for UNO Alumni Month of Service projects: 

  • Participate in Serve UNO Day! 
  • Make it a family and friends affair and invite your favorite people to join you in giving back to a cause in your community. 

Make a pledge to volunteer and receive a free UNO branded item! 

SERVE UNO DAY

April 5, 2025 
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. 
University of Nebraska at Omaha 

UNO alumni and friends are invited to campus to complete service projects to benefit our great university.  

SERVE UNO DAY PROJECTS

Maverick Food Pantry 

  • Help stock the Maverick Food Pantry shelves, eliminate food insecurity and increase access to basic needs for UNO students
  • Must be able to bend and lift boxes.
  • Volunteers needed: 5-8

Library Archives and Special Collections 

  • Preserve UNO history by organizing historical photographs for the UNO Criss Library Archives and Special Collections.
  • Knowledge of the university’s history not required.  
  • Volunteers needed: 2-20 

Office of Engagement  

  • Help advance civic engagement by organizing storage materials for a UNO Community Engagement Center building partner.
  • Volunteers needed: 3-4

Durango’s Advancement and Support Hub 

  • Provide light-duty landscaping services such as moving and filling dirt and mulch in garden beds; building additional beds if necessary; creating signs for garden beds.
  • Must be able to lift 10-25 pounds, complete repetitive motions and use gardening tools. 
  • Volunteers needed: 2-10  

Maverick Monument 

  • Help clean and polish the 8-foot-tall, 1,600-pound bronze mascot statue that serves as a symbol of the determination, pride and success of UNO students and alumni and the opportunities before them.
  • Volunteers needed: 6-8 

Career Closet 

  • Help set up UNO students for success! Organize donated clothing by size, style and gender; clearly label containers and items to ensure easy identification; arrange clothing racks to create an orderly and accessible display. 
  • Must be able to climb stairs, stand for most of the time and lift up to 20 pounds. 
  • Volunteers needed: 6-8 
     

Sign up to participate and receive a free UNO branded item!

Questions? Contact Katie Martikainen, Director of Alumni Engagement, at [email protected] or 402-509-5681.

Alumni Month of Service Stories

Read stories from Mavericks about their projects and why they volunteer below. Together, we are continuing UNO’s legacy of community service.

Phoenix Mavericks

Members of the UNO Alumni Chapter in Phoenix helped pack emergency food boxes at St. Mary’s Food Bank. The boxes will be distributed throughout Arizona to families experiencing food insecurity.

Matt McMaster

Matt McMaster (BS, 1998) is a volunteer facilitator at The Family Room Church Food Pantry. In April, they hosted a community resource fair featuring a free workshop by a national speaker and author. The event also included 15 community partners offering free resources to those in need and a warm meal. McMaster helped coordinate, schedule, promote and provide hours of manual labor to execute the event. Fellow alum, Michael Monico (BS, 2023), and McMaster’s daughter, Ayana, a sophomore at UNO also volunteered their time.

“I continue to volunteer because we are all in need of something; rich or poor, young or old,” said McMaster.

Emily Geest

Emily Geest (MS, 2017) volunteers at Insect Adventure, an extension insect-themed science center in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Geest helps create outreach activities like making insect headband name tags, creating lady beetle walking stones for a garden and stir-frying some mealworms for an edible insect activity.

“My favorite part of volunteering is watching people develop an interest in science and become less fearful of insects,” said Geest.

Gene Kathol

Since retiring, Gene Kathol (BS, 1969) served on the Board of Directors of Nebraska Trout Unlimited for 16 years including two as President. He is now a volunteer Youth Education Coordinator helping teach school-aged children about raising trout, their food sources and how to fly fish throughout the state of Nebraska. He travels to outdoor events hosted by the Nebraska Game and Parks to share his appreciation and expertise.

“I want kids to learn about and appreciate the outdoors so there will still be advocates for the appreciation of the outdoor resources that we have for future generations,” said Kathol.