Before classes, before matriculation and before move-in, a small army of student volunteers came to Boston University for a week of community service.

First-Year Student Outreach Project, one of many programs run by BU’s Community Service Center, welcomed 450 incoming freshman on Monday and offered them the opportunity to serve the greater Boston area while easing into their first year of college.

Clad in ‘I heart FYSOP’ T-shirts, volunteers from this student-run program participated in a number of focused issue areas ranging from disabilities to HIV/AIDS awareness and collectively donated 12,500 hours of service.

Over the course of the four-day program, the FYSOPers engaged in a day of entertaining workshops, lectures from guest speakers and other related projects before three days of site visits, volunteering their time throughout Boston.

Of the many prominent Boston community members who spoke during Education Day on Tuesday, FYSOP participant Craig Anderson said that he considered Liz Roy, a representative from the United Nation Children’s Fund, to be the most interesting and said that one of her simulations had the greatest impact on him.

‘She talked about problems with running something as large as UNICEF,’ Anderson said. ‘She played a game with us where we had 15 cards, each with something that a child needs, such as education, protection from abuse and clean water. Then she asked us to take five cards away, then another five, until we could keep only three.’

University Professors Program sophomore Leslie Stierman, a student coordinator for Homelessness and Housing, said her FYSOP group planned on visiting a number of worthy organizations ranging from Habitat for Humanity to Serving OurSelves.

‘S.O.S. Farm is amazing,’ she said. ‘It is a farm, run by homeless people, which allows the workers to eat and keep the food they grow and then receive a share of the profits from selling the food.’

In its 14th year of community service, FYSOP underwent a few changes including shuffling some issue areas.

‘Affordable housing and hunger and homelessness were two issue areas last year,’ Stierman said. ‘However, the lack of affordable housing is a major factor in the issue of homelessness, so it seemed more to the point to have homelessness and housing as a division and then let hunger be its own area.’

Sargent College of Heath and Rehabilitation Sciences freshman Alison Hanno, a former Big Sister, said she loved the opportunities FYSOP delivered and helping out at a local food shelter.

‘This is a great way to meet new people and move in before the rush,’ she said. ‘I love helping people, knowing that you made a difference in someone’s life and seeing their reactions.’

Anderson said FYSOP’s innovative and entertaining approach was the perfect prelude to the school year.

‘This had basically been like going to camp before school,’ he said. ‘There have been chants, songs, games and crafts. I know it all sounds cheesy but it has been a blast.’

College of Arts and Sciences freshman Noah Goldstein said while all the issue areas were important, he appreciated the chance to learn about and help fight for a single cause the environment and not spread himself too thin.

‘Ever since I was a kid, I loved nature, being in nature, preserving nature,’ he said. ‘This is just something I know I should be doing. I wish I could help out in other areas too, but we only have four days. So I’d rather work as hard as I can on environment and make a difference than dabble and not really get anything done.’