More than 200 people from the Student Volunteer Army are returning today to help the Christchurch community.
The volunteer group, run by Canterbury University students, won headlines with community work after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
Its president, Sati Ravichandiren, said today's Connect the Community event is to keep students working with other locals.
The event will be staged in the coastal suburb of New Brighton.
Mr Ravichandiren said the volunteer army's core values have changed little since the earthquakes.
"So after the quakes, it was very much about students going out, helping people in need after the quakes, cleaning up liquefaction, making them feel safe and secure in their homes ... and that's essentially what we still try to do now, which is to get students out, connecting with people in the community, helping them out, doing whatever they can."
The volunteer army says today's New Brighton event has 10 projects, including mural painting, sandpit making and planting.