Members of the local community and University of Illinois faculty, staff, and students will join forces to kick off National Volunteer Week 2013, which takes place from April 21-27. One project that is already being planned involves packaging 146,000 meals -- one thousand for every year of public engagement since the University was chartered -- for local foodbanks to be distributed to needy families in Champaign-Urbana. The University's National Soybean Research Laboratory created the recipe in-house, so it's an "Illinois" meal.

Hundreds of volunteers are needed for the food packaging project as well as a number of other projects being planned to benefit the local community. Or plan your own community service project and let us know about it!

Several volunteer shifts will be available during the day. And then help us celebrate 146 years of public engagement in the afternoon at Indi Go Art Gallery!