By Adam Windram

It may have seemed like the crack of dawn, but for approximately 300 students who gathered in Krentzman Quad at 9 a.m. Saturday, the early rising marked Northeastern’s ninth annual Service Day.

Ready to give back to the community, students registered to volunteer at different work sites throughout Boston and Vice President for Public Affairs Bob Gittens thanked the crowd of volunteers before they left for their respective sites.

The event, sponsored by the Center for Community Service and the Office of Government Relations and Community Affairs, is evidence of Northeast-ern students’ increased involvement in community service, said Jeff Doggett, associate director of community affairs and director of the Community Service Center.

“[The service center has] grown in the number of agencies we’ve worked with … the number of students involved has increased as well,” Doggett said.

During the day, one group of student volunteers worked with the residents at the Morville House, a home that provides low-income housing for the elderly on Norway Street. Students ran errands for the residents, served them lunch and played games with them.

Morville House resident Dean Denniston played a game of bingo with some students.

“To go out on Saturday mornings and help seniors is an act of love,” Denniston said.

Students also volunteered with Youth Enrichment Services (Y.E.S.), an urban-based outdoor adventure program. As part of the program, students helped with the cleaning and disposing of old equipment.

“[I’ve] been putting stuff in the dumpster, and cleaning the shop,” said Kizzi Reyes, a senior criminal justice major.

The organization works with local children by taking them on outings such as ski trips, said Jeffrey Wortham, a program manager at Y.E.S.

“Our mission here is to expose city kids to new environments … try to look at life from a different perspective,” Wortham said.

Students from university clubs and organizations turned out for the event.

Members of the Student Government Association (SGA) and the entire executive board attended the event, said John Guilfoil, SGA vice president for administration and public relations.

“[SGA] always wants to give back as much as possible,” Guilfoil said.

In addition to Service Day, students participated in other volunteer events that coincided with the project. Students volunteered at the American Diabetes Walk by setting up the lunch area and served food to participants and other volunteers. Some cheered on participants and handed them goodie bags.

Other services the students provided included working for Community Servings, a food delivery service organization, where they packaged and prepared food for Monday deliveries.

At the Women’s Lunch Place, students cleaned and worked on the site located in the basement of the Church of the Covenant on Newbury Street.

Students also participated in neighborhood clean-up projects in Mission Hill, the Fenway neighborhood and lower Rox-bury.

Both students and staff said they felt NU Service Day was a very positive experience.

“Community service is something to do on the weekend, to socialize and meet new people,” said sophomore international affairs major Nick Hardey.

Despite some of the poor press Northeastern students have received recently, Service Day showed the majority can also be responsible and respectable, Gittens said.

“I think [Service Day] represents the best of what Northeastern students are about … [it] makes a positive difference in the community,” he said.