Penn State's second annual Promise Week, a weeklong commitment to service, begins today.

Penn State's Promise has grouped university clubs and organizations with community organizations to illustrate this year's theme, "a commitment to giving back."

An expected 200 students from various organizations will provide service this week such as working with children and outdoor beautification, Penn State Promise fellow Andre Garabedian said.

"The importance of Promise Week is to make students feel as though they are part of the community," he said.

Garabedian said Penn State's Promise wants student and community organizations to have better access to one another. The group is currently working to promote a Web site where community organizations post their volunteer opportunities for students.

"Often times, the problem is student organizations and community organizations don't match up," he said.

Makini Young, Penn State's Promise assistant coordinator, said the group is making it easier for those who want to volunteer and those who need volunteers to communicate.

Emily Wills, a fellow the organization, said the Web site has been successful so far and, as a result, may be initiated at other universities.

Wills said the link from students to community is a primary goal of Promise Week.

"I think the main thing we are trying to initiate by Promise Week is pulling in that town and gown aspect," she said.

Penn State's Promise Communications and Public Relations Coordinator Amy Neil said that Promise Week was started last year from a collective idea that came from the students.

She said it is held in the spring because most recognized days of service, such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, are in the fall.

"We want to keep service in the forefront of the students' minds," Neil said.

Penn State's Promise was awarded the inaugural George H. W. Bush Promise of America Award for Schools, Colleges, and Universities in October. The award is national recognition of the group's effort to help young people.

Neil said service should be a priority to everyone throughout the year.

"It's not just a week of giving back to the community but making it a regular part of your life," she said.