2008 Woodie Awards
IUPUI Office of Community Service helps students get involved
Shawna Woodall
Issue date: 10/17/07 Section: College News
- Page 1 of 1
The commuter campus atmosphere at IUPUI might mislead a student to feel like it's hard to find opportunities to serve the community. However, a visit to the Office of Community Service (OCS) in the basement of University College proves otherwise.
To identify community service opportunities, the office directs a student to do one of two things-fill out a volunteer placement information sheet or look at the calendar of events.
Filling out the volunteer placement information sheet enters you into the OCS database. The sheet identifies why you are volunteering, lists your interests and allows you to explain your skills or experiences. The office then contacts you with a list of volunteer opportunities that best suits you. OCS tracks the number of hours volunteered, how the experience was and asks what they can do to better assist you.
The office can also provide you with a list of volunteer opportunities on campus and around Indianapolis. You can use the calendar of events and the list of weekly volunteer opportunities to contact the agency yourself and schedule your own appointment.
"The Office of Community Service enables students to find, fund or plan educationally meaningful community service projects that mutually benefit the campus and the community," said Caroline Wade, a senior and OCS volunteer.
IUPUI has 81 community partners, and since Sept. 4 more than 40,000 hours of service have already been completed. In 2005-2006 more than 47,000 hours of service were provided to the community through service learning classes.
Recently, IUPUI received the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. This award is earned by demonstrating "exemplary student community service and service-learning programs."
"I am actually from Buffalo, New York, and one of the reasons I chose IUPUI for graduate school is because it is nationally recognized for civic engagement," said Rachel Bernstein, assistant community service coordinator.
U.S. News and World Report recognized IUPUI for having one of the best service-learning programs in the nation for three years in a row. The Princeton Review recognizes IUPUI among 81 private and public institutions as one of the nation's best colleges in terms of "fostering responsibility and public service." IUPUI has also been selected as one of 13 campuses to participate in a pilot project sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching regarding higher education centered on community engagement.
For more information visit http://www.iupui.edu/~sldweb/ccl/volunteer, or visit the Office of Community Service in the basement of University College.
To identify community service opportunities, the office directs a student to do one of two things-fill out a volunteer placement information sheet or look at the calendar of events.
Filling out the volunteer placement information sheet enters you into the OCS database. The sheet identifies why you are volunteering, lists your interests and allows you to explain your skills or experiences. The office then contacts you with a list of volunteer opportunities that best suits you. OCS tracks the number of hours volunteered, how the experience was and asks what they can do to better assist you.
The office can also provide you with a list of volunteer opportunities on campus and around Indianapolis. You can use the calendar of events and the list of weekly volunteer opportunities to contact the agency yourself and schedule your own appointment.
"The Office of Community Service enables students to find, fund or plan educationally meaningful community service projects that mutually benefit the campus and the community," said Caroline Wade, a senior and OCS volunteer.
IUPUI has 81 community partners, and since Sept. 4 more than 40,000 hours of service have already been completed. In 2005-2006 more than 47,000 hours of service were provided to the community through service learning classes.
Recently, IUPUI received the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. This award is earned by demonstrating "exemplary student community service and service-learning programs."
"I am actually from Buffalo, New York, and one of the reasons I chose IUPUI for graduate school is because it is nationally recognized for civic engagement," said Rachel Bernstein, assistant community service coordinator.
U.S. News and World Report recognized IUPUI for having one of the best service-learning programs in the nation for three years in a row. The Princeton Review recognizes IUPUI among 81 private and public institutions as one of the nation's best colleges in terms of "fostering responsibility and public service." IUPUI has also been selected as one of 13 campuses to participate in a pilot project sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching regarding higher education centered on community engagement.
For more information visit http://www.iupui.edu/~sldweb/ccl/volunteer, or visit the Office of Community Service in the basement of University College.
Be the first to comment on this story