TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- University of Alabama students will have an opportunity to be connected to the West Alabama community through a variety of volunteer service projects held Saturday, Aug. 27, as part of the 2005 Ripple Effect campus program.

Participants will be divided into groups to do community service projects from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Habitat for Humanity (house building), Tuscaloosa Family Resource Center (painting and landscaping), UA Arboretum (landscaping), Kentuck Art Museum (preparing for Kentuck Art Festival), the Salvation Army (helping organize a food pantry) and Oak Hill School (painting and landscaping).

Registration for the event will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Student Recreation Center.

The event, sponsored by Housing and Residential Communities, FATE, Community Service Center and Russell Student Health Center, emphasizes growth in the community and growth in the individual through service. It also gives the students the opportunity to give back to the community, and it provides new students a way to network and socialize in their first weeks on campus.

There will be a pizza party at the UA pool to thank all of the volunteers after the event.

For more information or to sign up for the event, contact Megann E. Bates, manager of the UA Community Service Center, at 205/348-5586, mbates@sa.ua.edu, or go to www.volunteer.ua.edu.