Student Involvement
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History of the Service Center
In 1970, when many students around the country were involved in the Vietnam War protest movement, Utah State University students chose to display their concern about America in a positive way. In the fall of that year, concerned student leaders joined together to create Utah State University's first Volunteer Organization for Involvement in the Community and Environment (VOICE).
The purpose of the Service Center was to organize students into committees and projects that would serve to improve the environment in Cache Valley as well as address some of the social issues associated with the University and community. Sue Brown, a student activist, became the first student director of VOICE and Dr. Val R. Christensen, who at that time was serving as Director of Student Activities became its advisor.
The first project undertaken by the committee was to gather the leaves in the community to be hauled to the Logan City Dump. During the fall quarter of that year, Dr. Christensen, along with other community and campus leaders, assisted in organizing a volunteer corps called Helpline, a walk-in agency, later expanded to a 24-hour answering service. A number of campus and community volunteers were recruited to participate in this project.
Soon after VOICE was organized other projects started. Including Friends for the Elderly, Thanksgiving and Christmas Food Drives, Project Pals, and Special Olympics. Since that time, hundreds of students have been involved in serving the needs of the community through programs that exist in Cache Valley and the Service Center.
In its early stages, VOICE was one of the first campus volunteer organizations in the nation. For more than 20 years, it has stood as a leader for volunteer programs in the state of Utah.
The name of the Service Center was changed in 1999 to the Val R. Christensen Service Center in honor of Dr. Christensen's help and efforts in starting this organization.