Hillsdale College students logged 7,274 volunteer hours in a single semester through the college’s Great Opportunities for Assistance and Leadership program, according to Livia Dodd, junior and director of the GOAL program. 

As the college prepares for its annual day of service on April 11, students are continuing a tradition of giving back that is already reflected in their volunteer efforts throughout the year. 

In the fall 2025 semester, 652 student volunteers served 2,316 people in the community, in addition to roughly 100 animals cared for through the Humane Society program. While some programs overlap service, Dodd said the numbers reflect a deeply rooted culture of service on campus.

“I would say we’re pretty good at volunteering,” Dodd said. “Volunteering is just a natural response. It’s this innate response of, ‘I should be serving others.’”

That instinct translates into both broad participation and meaningful impact across GOAL’s 26 programs, which are led by 27 student leaders. 

GOAL leaders themselves represent some of the most dedicated volunteers, according to Dodd. She also said each leader is required to complete 75 hours per semester, though many far exceed that benchmark.

“Some of my leaders will have 200 hours per semester,” Dodd said. “They’re the most dedicated volunteers across the board.”

Some initiatives stand out for their scale. A Few Good Men, a GOAL program that assists community members with manual labor projects, contributed the largest share of service hours, with 50 volunteers logging just under 2,000 hours over the fall semester. The Humane Society program, however, drew the largest number of student participants, with 130 volunteers, according to Dodd.

Other programs made their mark through the number of people they served. Community Health reached 425 individuals — the highest of any program — while Bread of Life, a program supporting Christian food banks, followed closely behind, serving 300 people. Dodd also said additional efforts like Hospital Volunteering with 936 hours, Crossroads with 700 hours, and Adopt-a-Grandparent with 400 hours, further illustrate the wide range of needs students are meeting in the community.

Other programs stand out not for size, but for the depth of commitment they require, according to Dodd.

The Crossroads program, for instance, asks its 13 volunteers to commit about five hours each week — well above the typical one-hour expectation, according to Dodd. Each Crossroads volunteer mentors a small group of middle or high school students — known as a “care cell” — meeting weekly and maintaining relationships beyond scheduled programming. Even with its smaller size, the group logged 700 hours and served 252 community members during the semester.

“It’s an insane commitment,” Dodd said. “They’re pouring into these students’ lives every week.”

Jake Hamilton, senior and leader of the Crossroads GOAL program, emphasized the relational impact of the program.

“I think the biggest thing that I love about this is that we are giving these kids an older sibling presence in their lives,” Hamilton said. “It means a lot for somebody to show up for you.”

Hamilton added that the time commitment, while demanding, becomes a natural part of life.

“It doesn’t feel like volunteer hours,” Hamilton said. “It just feels like part of what I do.”

That culture has gained recognition beyond campus. Last August, The Collegian reported that Princeton Review ranked Hillsdale No. 2 in the nation for student engagement in community service, based on student responses about their peers’ commitment and institutional data.

Emily Loner, junior and leader of the Community Health GOAL program, said service plays a key role in shaping students.

“I have witnessed the blessing of Hillsdale students in the community through their diligence and hard work,” Loner said. “Sometimes it is behind the scenes, like restocking baby clothes, or on the front lines, donating blood and comforting a patient who received a diagnosis of a terminal illness. Serving the wider community gives students a generous dose of perspective.”