West Virginia Universitys Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) will celebrate the spirit of volunteerism and service learning with free food, music and activities from noon-4 p.m. Friday (April 25)in the Mountainlair ballrooms. Faculty, staff, students and community members are welcome to join in the festivities.

The event falls on the CCE s annual Day of Engagement and features a WVU Steel Drum Band performance, free hot dogs and drinks, RockEm SockEm and Skee-Ball inflatable games, raffle drawings and T-shirt giveaways.

There will also be a service fair with many of the Universitys 300-plus student organizations and WVU s CCE community partners. Students are invited to browse the tables to see which groups they may be interested in joining.

Other activities include a student-sponsored Alexs Lemonade Standa unique project that evolved from a young cancer patients front-yard lemonade stand to a nationwide fundraising movement to find a cure for pediatric cancer.

In addition, everyone is encouraged togo greenand participate in the WVU Environmental Conservation Awareness Now (WE CAN ) programs water bottle giveaway. Participants are asked to bring one weeks worth of plastic bottles from their regular consumption and exchange them for a WE CAN reusable polycarbonate bottle.

The Day of Engagement is part of the Universitys Week of Engagement (April 21-26), which coincides with National Volunteer Week. Highlights from the week so far include a community service competition; service projects benefiting Caritas House, Christian Help, Rock Forge Neighborhood House, Sundale Nursing Home, Milan Puskar Health Right and the West Virginia Botanic Garden; an Earth Day Forum organized by WVU Political Science 489 Capstone Course students as a service-learning project; community service signups; and information booths.

The week serves a dual purpose: it is an opportunity to remind the WVU and Morgantown communities about volunteer opportunities, while shining a spotlight on WVU student organizations, CCE director Kimberly Colebank said.

She hopes the annual event will encourage students, faculty and staff to get more involved in the Morgantown community and to make a difference.

Student organizations do a tremendous amount of work in our community,Colebank said.The center would like to show its appreciation for their contributions and encourage other students to become more civically engaged.

For more information, call 304-293-8761 or visithttp://cce.wvu.edu/woe.