FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Farmington’s third annual Month of Service will start Saturday and continue Sept. 18 and 25, Kirsten Swan, UMF director for the Center for Student Involvement, said this week.

Started nine years ago as a day of service, the program grew as students, staff and faculty provided labor and service to local nonprofits.

About 12 local nonprofits will benefit as participants provide service for places such as the Double B Equine Rescue, the Franklin County Animal Shelter, the Pierce House, local food pantries, church activities and the Hope Community Garden, Swan said.

This year, several students will help staff the Red Schoolhouse living history museum at Farmington Fair throughout the week, not just Saturday. Working with Sue McCleery Small from the museum, Swan has provided time for about 20 volunteers to staff the museum during the week. Some students find it hard to volunteer on Saturdays and this provides an opportunity for them, she said.

Students will help answer questions about the school’s 125-year history, the last one-room, rural school in Farmington that closed in 1958.

“Some students who have volunteered in previous years (during the Month of Service) have stuck with it after the month is over,” she said. “It helps give them a connection to the community and they feel like they’re contributing to the area as well as going to school.”

Most students coming to UMF from high school have performed public service work as part of their high school experience and that is continued, she said.

Swan expects close to 200 UMF students will take part in this year’s Month of Service activities.

Volunteering at the animal shelter and the Pierce House and caring for abandoned horses at Double B are among the favorites selected by students who sign up according to their own interests. The students can also vary the places, choosing a different one each week, she said.

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