For a few hours on Sept. 19, University of Alabama at Birmingham students, faculty and staff traded their usual routines for work gloves, community projects and conversations with people across the community.

Through Into the Streets, UAB’s longest-running day of service, 451 volunteers served alongside 24 community partners, a 43% increase from Fall 2025. With faculty and staff supporting the event, more than 500 people took part, and together, they contributed 902 hours of service to the Birmingham community. 

As part of UAB’s observance of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, volunteers assembled 841 hygiene care packages for veterans experiencing homelessness, surpassing the original goal of 750. The project was supported by a 9/11 Day Campus Grant, which helped connect remembrance with hands-on service. 

For the students, faculty and staff assembling the packages, each one represented a small act of care for someone in the community.

“Today showed me that we are more connected than we often realize. It also put into perspective just how much of an impact we can make when we come together for a common cause.”

Seeing Birmingham differently

Service took volunteers to churches, community organizations and Birmingham landmarks, giving students opportunities to experience parts of the city they may not encounter in their everyday lives. 

At Green Liberty Baptist Church, one student said the experience offered a chance to meet people outside their usual campus circle and gain a new perspective on community needs.

“It was refreshing to communicate with new people who don’t go to school with me. This impacted me in a way that I know there is always someone in need.”

At Vulcan Park and Museum, another student connected service with learning more about the city they call home.

“I got to learn about the history of Birmingham and the steel industry, which helped further my understanding of this great city and community.”

Those experiences were reflected in early survey responses with students recognizing that community engagement is not something that happens somewhere else; it’s happening right here, and they have a role in it.

Among the first 103 participants who completed the post-event survey:

• 98% said it is important to them to play an active role in their communities.
• 96% said the experience helped them better understand the role they can play in improving their community.
• 94% said the experience helped them recognize how their actions affect others.

The 2026 event continues a growing tradition of Blazers serving Birmingham. Volunteer participation increased from 316 in Fall 2025 to 451 this year, building on 285 volunteers in Fall 2024 and 344 in Fall 2023. The estimated economic value of this year's volunteer time was $25,743.08. In just a few hours, hundreds of Blazers turned their time into something Birmingham could feel.

That is the impact of Into the Streets.