More than 6,000 Ohio University students participate in volunteer activities each year. They plant
gardens, organize food drives, clean up along highways, promote literacy and perform many other
services on campus and in the community.
As part of National Volunteer Week, the university's Center for Community Service is sponsoring
volunteer opportunities every day this week and honoring individuals who regularly donate their time to
various projects. Each day this week, we are profiling students whose community service efforts have
earned them recognition. For more information about Center for Community Service activities this week,
go to www.ohiou.edu/news/99-00/254.html
A cut above the rest
Sophomore James Joyce doesn't mind helping out, whether it's volunteering for Special Olympics, setting up tables for a campus event or doing community service as a member of the Ohio University track team. But the role for which he's known best among many of his peers is amateur barber.
"I'm pretty good at cutting hair, and other students are always calling me at odd times asking for haircuts," Joyce says. "So on Saturdays during fall quarter, I cut hair for a couple of hours in Ryors Hall's rec room. It was a cool atmosphere. We played video games and watched TV."
Joyce didn't have time to set up his makeshift barber shop during winter quarter, but he says he'd like to get it started again. By the way, the haircuts are free, although Joyce will take donations.
"People keep asking me about it, so I guess I should start doing it again," he says.
Joyce, a journalism major from the Baltimore area, has been involved in volunteer efforts for at least half of his 19 years. His interest in community service began when he was a young boy attending summer camp in Maryland. Through the years, he became an active leader and still participates in summer camp planning.
"It seemed like the camp leaders were having so much fun at that level, and I wanted to do what they were doing," he says. "And I liked how the children really looked up to you as you moved through the ranks."
Besides serving as a resident assistant and running track, he is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the Black Student Communication Caucus, the Student African American Brotherhood and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The groups' volunteer projects fill up much of his free time.
"I don't mind helping people out," he says. "People have helped me out in the past. Besides, it broadens your horizons, and you can actually affect other people's lives."
