On Chow Night at a Davis church, Vanessa Reyes of Fairfield helps prepare a weekly meal for about 40 homeless people. At a weekend health clinic in Sacramento, Vu Tran of Stockton provides a bridge of both language and comfort for patients who are being screened for cancer.

The two are among the thousands of UC Davis students whose community service has earned the university a second consecutive year on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. The awards program, administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, is the highest federal recognition for a university's commitment to service-learning and civic engagement, and this year it honored 635 schools.

"In this time of economic distress, we need volunteers more than ever," said Stephen Goldsmith of the corporation, an independent federal agency that fosters volunteer service. "College students represent an enormous pool of idealism and energy to help tackle some of our toughest challenges."

Cynthia Goldberg is coordinator for Human Corps, a campus unit that helps students connect with volunteer opportunities. She estimates students who came through Human Corps performed more than 250,000 hours of community service in 2007-08.

"It's impressive to see students looking outside of themselves to see where their efforts may benefit others," Goldberg said. "They develop leadership skills, and the opportunity for personal growth is very exciting."

After Reyes helped serve Thanksgiving dinner at a Davis church, the third-year student decided to work with other students to provide meals for the homeless community.

"The crazy thing is we have a $30 weekly budget, entirely provided by student fundraising, and we're still able to feed everyone -- sometimes with leftovers," said Reyes, who is studying neurobiology, physiology and behavior. "We do cook a lot of pasta!"

Tran, a fourth-year student majoring in biological sciences, gains valuable experience toward his future career in medicine during his volunteer hours with VN CARES, the Vietnamese Cancer Awareness, Research and Education Society.

On weekends, students recruit patients in South Sacramento for cancer screenings at the Paul Hom Asian Clinic in Sacramento. Fluent in Vietnamese, Tran translates for patients who are often shy about getting medical help.

"It's personally rewarding -- patients are very grateful for the screening and health care they receive," said Tran, who also volunteers at a Davis nursing home.

In honor of UC Davis' centennial year and its focus on public service, Human Corps has also organized weekends of service in which students participate in projects from crocheting beanies for hospitalized newborns to organizing donations at a hospice thrift store. The weekends are held quarterly, and the next one will be April 25 and 26.