Volunteering
According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, one in four Americans serve as a volunteer. Volunteering is a significant way to contribute to your local community and serve a cause you are passionate about, all while building key skills for your personal and professional development.
Many organizations rely on volunteers to help meet their goals and maximize their output. When reaching out to organizations, we ask our students to be considerate of the staff’s time, the organization’s needs and responsibilities, and the clients that they may be interacting with on-site. Volunteering can come in many different forms: daily operations, serving on committees, working an event, hosting drives, and so much more! Consider the ways your time commitments and skills can meet an organization’s needs.
Becoming an Active Citizen
Direct service can be a transformational learning experience that develops students’ leadership potential and introduces them to new perspectives and critical discourse. The Active Citizen Continuum helps envision the development journey of students involved in community-engaged service. The Active Citizen Continuum consists of the following steps (adapted from Break Away):
- Member: Not concerned with their role in social problems
- Volunteer: Well-intentioned but not well-educated about social issues
- Conscientious Citizen: Concerned with discovering root causes; asks “why?”
- Active Citizen: Community becomes a priority in values & live choices
Volunteer opportunities
Our office works with a variety of nonprofit organizations across the High Country and often learn of pressing needs for volunteers. We compile these details to share with students who are interested in getting involved in local efforts. Review the volunteer opportunities and our community volunteer database below to find your next act of service!
One-day service opportunities
CEL sponsors a monthly opportunity for service, reflection and education through our Days of Service events. These events are held in the full three months of each semester. Our office also hosts an American Red Cross Blood Drive every semester. For more information about these events, visit our Events page or find them in Engage.
Semester-long service opportunities
The Community Fellows program consists of small groups who work closely with a local non-profit partner for the duration of the semester. These groups engage in direct service, as well as advocacy, education, and philanthropy projects to benefit the social issue addressed by their non-profit partner. The Community Fellows program is a great way for students to delve deeper into a social issue and to also learn more about non-profit organization.
Individual service opportunities
If you are looking for individual service opportunities, CEL has compiled a list that is categorized by the Sustainable Development goals to which an organization’s mission is primarily attached. In 2015, the United Nations adopted an agenda consisting, in part, of 17 Sustainable Development goals for a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet,” with the understanding that these areas are interconnected and require strategies to tackle each in order for us to move forward together. Look through our list of Community Partners to see who serves a cause close to your interests. If you need help navigating this process, feel free to reach out to Brent James.