Penn State brings many things to State College -- 40,000 additional residents, football fans and volunteers for community service organizations around the county.

"In terms of this organization, we would not exist without students. For other organizations, I know it's the same argument," said Tammy Gentzel, executive director of the Community Help Center of Centre County (CHC), 139 S. Pugh St.

The center recruits and trains students to work with other community service organizations in the area, Gentzel said.

"A lot of times, people know they want to volunteer, but aren't sure who they want to volunteer with," Gentzel said.

CHC has a placement staff that will talk to people and give them narrowed-down lists of organizations they would most likely enjoy volunteering with, she said.

Volunteering is a great way for students to spend their time for a variety of reasons, Gentzel said.

Community service is a great resume builder because employers look for people with real-world experience, she added.

"Volunteering builds experiences that you might not get in a classroom," she said.

Volunteering also gives people a sense of accomplishment because they choose to help people without being forced, Gentzel said.

Wendi Keeler, American Red Cross field representative, said the local Red Cross could not exist without the help of Penn State students.

"They are imperative; we could never do what we do without student volunteers," Keeler said.

Students provide a variety of services for the Red Cross, from helping with office work to teaching basic first aid to elementary school students, Keeler said.

There is always at least one volunteer in the Red Cross office, and there are about 100 volunteers for every paid employee in the entire organization, Keeler added.

"[The office] gets pretty chaotic, but it's a fun place to be," Keeler said.

Students get to experience things they normally wouldn't; they get "an overview of a large human service organization," she added.

Another organization that relies mainly on student volunteers is the Big Brother-Big Sister program, which is run through the Centre County Youth Services Bureau.

"We're always looking for volunteers," said Chantelle Hodge, receptionist for the bureau.

"There's always a waiting list; it's pretty long with kids looking for big brothers or big sisters."

The program is extremely rewarding for both the kids involved and the students who volunteer to spend time with them, Hodge said.

A lot of the students are education majors who say that they never really understood children until taking part in the program, she said.

"The students who come in here are always excited. It's so great to see," Hodge said.

The children in the program are also excited when they get to spend time with their volunteers, she said.

Many of the children do poorly in school or have a lot of brothers and sisters, so they aren't used to getting individual attention, Hodge added.

"It's constantly a happy place around here," she said.