University of Oregon students who have been chosen for the Stamps Scholarship are participating in the first Stamps National Day of Service to help the community and develop their leadership skills. 

Stamps Scholars at 18 college and university campuses across the country selected local organizations to support by volunteering, most of them on Saturday, April 16. Scholars at the UO will work with St. Vincent de Paul, Lane County’s largest nonprofit human services organization.

Students will spend the day at a local warehouse store and donation site to help clean and sort through clothes and donations, as well as clear away blackberry bushes around the building.

“Being a leader isn’t just about being the person at the head of the table,” said Roe Stamps, who founded the Stamps Scholarship with his wife, Penny. “Leaders are part of their communities and they have a duty to use their skills and talents to help address the important issues where they live and work.”

The Stamps Scholarship program provides multi-year merit scholarships and “dream funds” that allow students to participate in activities of their choosing, such as study abroad, independent research, cultural exchanges, leadership training and other activities of interest to them. Stamps Scholarship recipients are nominated by the nearly 40 partner colleges and universities who share the costs of the annual awards.