ORONO – The local celebration of National Volunteer Week from April 23 to 29 will focus on the effort members of the University of Maine community put into making the world around them a better place.

A series of volunteer activities includes Volunteer Appreciation Night at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 30, in the Bodwell Lounge at the Maine Center for the Arts.

UM’s Barbara Higgins Bodwell 1945 Center for Service and Volunteerism oversees all the events at which students, faculty members, staff members and volunteers will be recognized.

The annual highlight is the presentation of the center’s five awards – the Active Citizen Award, the Dean Lucy Award, the Community Partner Award, the Barbara Bodwell Award and the Black Bear Volunteer Award.

“Service beyond self, a giving and caring attitude, will strengthen our bonds as human beings and help create the caring, kind, and compassionate communities we all want,” said Robert Dana, UM dean of students. “For me, a volunteer spirit sweeping across this campus and the country as a whole is the first and most important step to actually engaging others and beginning a process where we all treat each other with dignity, equity and respect.”

National Volunteer Week was created in 1974, when President Richard Nixon signed an executive order establishing an annual celebration of volunteering. Every president since has signed a proclamation promoting the week. This year’s theme, “Volunteers Work Wonders,” sets the stage for local and national organizations to applaud the efforts of volunteers and to encourage others to get involved in helping strengthen their communities.

UM students and staff members will volunteer at these area activities and events during National Volunteer Week:

. Ronald McDonald House dinner, 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 24.

. Beano, 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 26, at Orono Commons.

. Showing of “Invisible Children,” a documentary film, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 27, Room 100, Corbett Business Building.

. Powerhouse Teen Center, a teen support program in Bangor, 7 p.m. Friday, April 28.

. Orono Land Trust Clean Up, 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, April 29.

Recent studies on volunteers have shown that more than 64 million Americans have volunteered their time, or nearly 29 percent of the population.

National Volunteer Week seeks to inspire by example, honoring the service of our country’s most committed volunteers and sharing their achievements to encourage more Americans to volunteer.