Oksana, a small sprite of an 8-year-old wearing a pink quilted coat and Little Mermaid sneakers, tugged her cheeks during most of her trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo on a sunny Saturday morning.

She did it while eating a ham-and-cheese sandwich outside the park. She did it in front of the tigers, in front of the apes and while waiting for the rest of the group to catch up.

Oksana was happy: tugging at the cheeks is sign language for “smile.”

About 80 Northwestern students volunteered at eight local sites Saturday, including the zoo, for Community Action Day. The annual event is sponsored by five student groups: Alternative Spring Break, Dance Marathon, Oasis, Special Olympics and Suitcase Party.

The groups began planning about six months ago for a day offering trips to sites they hoped would spark interest in service organizations and attract more volunteers.

The zoo trip reflects Special Olympics organizers’ goal to make their event more than a one-day affair. This year, activities including a Valentine’s Day Dance, karaoke and a barbecue helped foster a sense of community between NU students and people with disabilities such as Down syndrome, organizers said. About 40 NU students volunteered at the zoo. The 80 participants they helped included athletes from New Trier High School and residents of Misericordia, a center for people with disabilities.

Spending more time with athletes with disabilities helps NU students learn new ways to relate to others, said Heather Wade, a Special Olympics coach and co-volunteer coordinator.

“Even though there might be a language barrier because a lot of kids here are deaf, you can communicate with them in other ways,” said Wade, an Education senior.

At one point, Tiffany, a Special Olympics athlete, walked up to Wade, smiled, and extended a finger with a pink ring on it. Wade held it and said, “By smiling, by touching or by holding someone’s hand, it just shows you care.”

Special Olympics coaches found that LaShanda, an athlete, had a certain weakness: She couldn’t resist tickling.

“Where are you ticklish most?” said Sharon Liszanckie, Special Olympics co-chairwoman. She answered her own question: “On the neck and on the sides.”

LaShanda dissolved into giggles and sat on Liszanckie’s feet.

So Liszanckie grasped her by the elbows, another volunteer held her ankles, and they swung LaShanda from side to side on the path in front of the flamingos.

“This is not so much volunteering as getting together and hanging out,” said Liszanckie, an Education senior. “It’s something I would do with someone I sit in class with.”

Zoo trips are bright spots in the routine at Misericordia, said Seidat Dalogua, a caretaker at the center.

“There’s nothing I can change about his situation but I can take him out (into) beauty,” said Dalogua, who accompanied Jamaal, a boy with cerebral palsy.

Wade said she hoped the trip would spark students’ interest in a weekly volunteer program at Misericordia.

“It’s one of those things where you volunteer once and you’re hooked,” Wade said. “We’re hoping some students will get hooked today.”

Weinberg freshman Cortney Wobig said volunteering through ASB and Oasis got her hooked on service.

“They organize it all for you,” she said while offering an athlete a choice of chocolate or vanilla ice cream. “All you have to do is go and have fun. Even if you make the tiniest bit of difference in someone’s day, you’ve done something. There are important things besides reading books or going to parties.”

Other students volunteered for Open Hands, a grocery store for people with AIDS or HIV; the American Red Cross; REST, a Chicago homeless shelter and soup kitchen; Christmas in April, a program that helps house low-income elderly and disabled people; People Reaching Out, a shelter for homeless women and children in the Austin neighborhood; Association House, a group that conducts workshops for at-risk children; and Washington Elementary School in Waukegan.

Katie Stearns, ASB co-director, said attendance exceeded her expectations and included students outside the service groups.

“We learned cosponsorship is the best way to go to make sure the event is well-attended,” said Stearns, a Speech senior. “Its success bodes well for Community Action Day in the future.”