East Carolinian

Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: staff photo

From academics to extracurricular activities, part-time jobs and maintaining a social life, students are busy. However, for many, an often over-looked activity is giving back to the community.

ECU's motto is "Servire" or "to serve," and The ECU Volunteer and Service- Learning Center provides students with an opportunity to answer this call. The Volunteer and Service Learning Center seeks to help students understand the rewards and challenges of service.

The center services students in three specific ways: through volunteerism, service learning and community partnership.

Volunteerism is for individuals and student groups who want to get involved with special projects or events around campus and the Greenville community.

Service learning benefits students by teaching them to better grasp the core concepts of a class through hands on experience.

Community partnership manages the relationship with various non-profit agencies in Greenville and surrounding areas. The partnership establishes the goals of the agencies, what opportunities would be appropriate, the expectations of the university and students and student safety.

"Volunteerism benefits students in several ways," said Jessica Gagne-Cloutier, a student engagement specialist with the center. " Research shows that students who volunteer have higher grades, an easier time making friends and are better at balancing their schedules."

Gagne-Cloutier adds that not only does service help academically, it can also help with future plans. Commitment to an organization can help with resume building. By giving the volunteer an advantage in job and internship positions, students are also able to network with agencies.

In addition, students can pace themselves by determining how much time and effort they wish to lend to volunteering.

"Volunteering does not require a large amount of time," said Pam Barclay, a volunteer coordinator at the center. "Students should try to complete 50 hours a year-once a week or once a month is a good start."

However, many staff members recognize the time constraints of students that wish to volunteer. For students who endure this challenge, the center offers peer coordinators who are there to help students balance their schedules and find organizations that will accommodate them.

Although there is no service requirement for graduation, the center encourages students of all majors to donate their time. Throughout the years, talks of subsidized college tuition for required service have some students buzzing and others a bit skeptical, but Barclay says that she has seen educational institutions both thrive and fail by requiring hours for graduation, but is unsure how the ECU student population would respond.

"We are all volunteers on our own and we trust the organization that we send each student to," Barclay said. "There are many benefits and the staff would never ask students to do anything that we would not do ourselves."

Whether it is in Greenville or back home, on weekends or during breaks, there are plenty of ways and opportunities to get involved. For the ECU center, both domestic and international service trips are offered.

Currently, the center is accepting applications for an international trip in orphanage outreach to Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic for the 2009 spring break.

The Volunteer and Service-Learning Center is located on the north side of the Old Cafeteria complex, closest to Jarvis Hall.

For more information contact the center at 328-2735 or visit the Web site at ecu.edu/vslc.



This writer can be contacted at features@theeastcarolinian.com.

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