Psychology and justice studies sophomore Jessica Crowell cradled the underweight 6-month-old girl, stroking her tiny, bruised feet and legs.
"They're giving her a pacifier so she can start learning to suck on a bottle," Crowell said, her eyes fixed on the baby.
"But right now, they have a feeding tube going to her stomach until she gets better sucking on the pacifier," she said.
Crowell is one of 500 ASU students who sacrificed a Saturday for Devils in Disguise, a campus-wide volunteer outreach program.
This year's program was the largest volunteer turnout in four years of operation.
Students visited 14 volunteer sites across the Valley, ranging from the Phoenix Zoo to homeless shelters.
At Hacienda Inc., a long-term care facility for the severely disabled, Crowell comforted the hungry baby.
Four more volunteers filled the nursery, reading to the other children.
Most kids lay in cribs, staring at the ceiling.
All are connected to feeding tubes.
More than 30 students volunteered at Hacienda; they read books to the residents, picked weeds and raked leaves.
The 75 residents at Hacienda, ranging from infants to young adults, will require 24-hour care for the rest of their lives.
"This is the place where children live and don't go home," said Staci Bishop-Glass, director of philanthropic development and public relations for Hacienda.
"It costs $166,000 per year per resident, and that's why [volunteers] are so important to us," Bishop-Glass said.
Jennifer Jaeger, a nursing senior and spokeswoman for Devils in Disguise, said she hoped students would leave inspired to do more service.
Back at Hacienda, Crowell rocks the small, baby girl, careful not to disrupt the direct flow of formula to her stomach.
"It's definitely a Saturday well spent," Crowell says softly. "Definitely well spent."
Reach the reporter at jacqueline.shoyeb@asu.edu.