"As we see a growing gap in our society economically between those who have relative easy access to economic resources and those who are more and more marginalized, those who have more feel some human obligation to those who have less," she said.

Parks, who has written extensively on the ways individuals can change and contribute to society, said people who work hard to ensure they remain in the "top of the economic hourglass" turn to volunteering as an expression of their humanity. Colleges and universities, she said, with their upwardly mobile populations, are fertile ground for volunteerism. But working in a soup kitchen as an extracurricular activity can also fall into the category of people with money and privilege demonstrating that to one another by volunteering.

And while some cynics question whether volunteerism is about helping or résumé building, others say that isn't necessarily a bad thing. If doing something for others is tied to careers, networking and making contacts useful in a job search, so be it, said Patricia Nash at Independent Sector: "I think that's a fine thing. It can benefit the individual as well as the community."

But Parks wonders what message colleges want to send to their young community servers. "Yes, you should do this when you're young and then you have to get serious about an eighty-hour work week? Or do we want to say to our young, you are going to have these experiences because you are going to be living in a yet more diverse, complex society with new ethical frontiers and we see this as a critical part of your education?"

Parks says colleges can offer opportunities for volunteering, but they also need to be mindful of their broader public purpose as institutions.

Colleges and universities can find ways to engage in these activities in such a way that it merely helps maintain the status quo, she said. Or they can turn volunteer activity into a learning activity that leads to a dialogue between colleges and universities and the surrounding communities--and addresses root causes of social problems.

It's important, Parks said, "to ask what is the deep purpose, as individuals going through these schools, but also to ask that question institutionally. What do we mean to each other? How does the question of the surrounding communities change the work of the college? How does the presence of the college potentially affect the surrounding communities in positive ways?"

Colby students who serve as mentors in the schools are less self-conscious about why they volunteer and tend to answer questions about their motives with a shrug and a smile. Snyder said he helped his mother, a resource-room teacher in Bangor, when he was in high school but had limited time for community service because he played sports and had other obligations. "When I got to college, I wanted to give back a little more," he said.

Sato, who volunteered as a student in Iowa City, said he expected to do as much or more at Colby, and not only for the benefit of his fifth-grade friend. "I never had a little brother so it's kind of like that," he said. "I just enjoy hanging out with him."

Colby may supply the mentors, but for college students who live in a community of 18- to 21-year-olds, the younger kid may be a welcome change. "It's a really good opportunity," Snyder said. "I get to work with Roy."

And have an impact.

While the Colby Cares About Kids program still is in the formative stages, other Colby students have been working in the schools for years and their contribution can be measured.

Mannocchi's daughter Jackie Mannocchi for example, is dyslexic, and Colby students have tutored her for three years through Waterville Junior High School. "They make her feel special," Mannocchi said. "That's exactly where a Colby tutor helps. It's somebody who can really relate to kids."

Meanwhile, in area schools some say the seeds of a long-lasting legacy have already been planted. Hall School fourth-grade teacher Donna Richardson said the Colby mentors offer children precious undivided attention, that the college kids are role models and that in an ideal world every child would have a Colby friend.

"I was enthusiastic and I'm still enthusiastic," said Bentzel, the Hall School counselor. "I think it's going beautifully. I can't think of any drawbacks. "They have just been a wonderful presence in the schools."

Roy, the 11-year-old paired with Snyder, offered his endorsement. "I'm very hyper on the days that he's not here," he said. "The first day, I'm like, 'Hey . . . Look at my bodyguard.'"