Evanston hosted an event Saturday to bring out people to participate in a day of volunteering.

Through the Evanston Day of Caring, the city aimed to attract 300 volunteers, according to the website. As of Friday, about 200 volunteers had registered for the event, the city’s community engagement specialist Charliese Agnew said.

This was the first time the city put on a volunteerism event of this size, Agnew said.

Some of the sites people worked at included Dawes Park and the dog beach, volunteering for activities such as picking up litter. Volunteers also painted the interior of PEER Services, 906 Davis St., an organization that provides services to people dealing with substance abuse problems.

Weinberg junior Aayush Gupta said he decided to lead a group of volunteers from Slivka Residential College to help freshmen reach out to the community. He led a group of Northwestern volunteers in mulching trees in Dawes Park.

“It’s a really good way for a group of people to bond,” said Gupta, the philanthropy chair of Slivka. “I know I did something like this my freshman year at the Shedd Aquarium.”

McCormick freshman and Slivka resident Sasha Weiss said he participated as a way to give back to his community.

“It gives you a new appreciation for what the city does and what goes into the parks,” said Weiss.

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