The three largest student-run organizations on campus want you to get involved.

During the first two weeks of the semester, UGA Relay for Life, ugaMiracle and UGA HEROs used the hype of a new year to recruit students and raise awareness.

To jumpstart its 16th year as a University organization, ugaMiracle launched Miraclefest, a weeklong series of events to draw in recruits and inform everyone of Miracle’s mission — raising money for the nonprofit hospitals of the Children’s Miracle Network.

“The goal of this year is to increase -— whether that’s people or money, it doesn’t matter,” said Beth Bettis, ugaMiracle executive director. “We want to improve each year.”

To increase funding, ugaMiracle is teaming up with country singer Pat Green for a benefit concert at 8 tonight at Legion Field, and to mark the end of Miraclefest, the organization is holding a percentage night at Your Pie at Five

Points on Sunday.

Bettis said all of the proceeds from the week’s events benefit the Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

UGA HEROs had its own weeklong recruitment and awareness week, known as WOW week, to spread the word about changing the lives of children affected by HIV and AIDS.

“The two guys that started HEROs said that if it’s not ‘wow,’ then it’s not worth doing,” said Taylor Buie, the public relations and marketing chair of UGA HEROs. “We want to have that hero factor.”

UGA HEROs was founded seven years ago by two University students, who eventually moved the organization’s headquarters to Atlanta under the name H.E.R.O for Children.

With more than 2,500 members, UGA HEROs provides 70 percent of the funding for H.E.R.O for Children.

Today, the organization is pushing recruitment with the theme, “Can You Join Me?” The group will hang pictures in Tate of celebrity HEROs, such as Mark Richt and Paula Deen, to encourage students to join.

This week is leading up to the official kick-off celebration on Sept. 9 in Tate Grand Hall. The group anticipates a crowd of 1,500 students.

This week, UGA HEROs, ugaMiracle and UGA Relay for Life talked to students on campus about the clubs’ projects and causes, hoping to increase participation. PHOTO BY WES BLANKENSHIP

UGA HEROs hopes to recruit more than 2,500 students for the fall semeste.

UGA Relay for Life is also gearing up for its kick-off on Sept. 2 by passing out information in residence halls and on other parts of campus and by holding several awareness events.

Although the organization did not hold its own version of Miraclefest or WOW Week, the student responses so far are forecasting an impressive year.

Just one day after creating a Facebook event for the kick-off, Relay had 600 confirmed guests, said Justin Mann, the executive director. He said he is expecting 1,000 students to attend the event, which will be held in downtown Athens.

In its 11th year at the University, Relay for Life has raised $2.3 million for the American Cancer Society, which in turn funds cancer research as well as awareness and prevention programs.

“We want to be the ones who cure cancer; we want to be the ones who help those who have cancer; we want to be the ones who keep people from getting cancer,” Mann said. “It’s a disease that I stand behind and want to eradicate completely.”

The executive directors of the “Big Three” all say students should get involved no matter which organization they choose.

“We are all huge organizations and do great things for students,” Bettis said. “If they are getting involved somewhere, it’s better than not getting involved at all.”