Students have the opportunity to volunteer and apply for internships at nearly 50 organizations Wednesday at the annual Fall Volunteer Fair.

The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

"There might be 50-plus agencies that could arrive at the volunteer fair," said Rachel Cassabon, senior in psychology and co-chairwoman for the fair.

The Psychology Club has hosted the fair since 1999 in hopes to bring the Ames community’s organizations together. The goal is to provide students volunteer and internship opportunities.

"A lot of people assume because it is sponsored by Psychology Club that it is just for psych majors or social work, but it actually benefits a lot of majors on campus," said Michelle Gibson, senior in psychology and co-chairwoman for the volunteer fair.

In 2012, the club partnered with the CyServe Council, formerly called the 10,000 Hours Show, to put on the Social Services Volunteer Fair. This year the fair is solely about volunteering. Social services are not the main focus.

“A lot of people who are part of the psychology department want to be involved in helping the community with social work and things like that,” said Kevin Merrill, adviser for the CyServe Council and program coordinator for the Memorial Union.

According to Iowa State's Web page, the CyServe council “encourages young people to meet immediate community needs through volunteering and community service and helps develop the next generation of active community leaders.”

The council works with some of the representatives that will be present at the fair, such as United Way of Story County and the Iowa Commission of Volunteer Service.

Students have the opportunity to gain real life experiences from the fair.

"It's the perfect way to get your name out there and meet agencies that are in the same field that you want to work in in the future," Cassabon said.

This is the second year for Cassabon and Gibson as the co-chairwomen of the fair. They are taking what they learned last year and are using it to make this volunteer fair even more successful.

"Last year's fair went really well," Cassabon said. "We had a lot of agencies that came; the whole Great Hall was filled but the student turnout wasn't as big as it usually is."

The co-chairwomen distributed advertisements in almost every building on campus to make note of the upcoming event.

"We are expecting a lot more students this year," Gibson said.

Cassabon has made use of the volunteer fair this past year. She had an internship with Assault Care Center Extending Shelter Support, one of the representing organizations.

"ACCESS is a place for anyone who has been in a domestic violence relationship or has been sexually abused," Cassabon said. "They advocate for people that have been in those situations and try to help them cope with the trauma."

The volunteer fair has an agency or organization for all majors and interests.

"I was thinking about walking around the event and checking it out and talking to people, because I am looking for an internship," Gibson said.

Volunteering is a good resume builder because it shows an individual is active in their community, Cassabon said.

"I think it is good to help out your community and help out the people around you as well," Gibson said.