Service can help you become more connected to the surrounding community. When you serve with community leaders, you gain skills that are invaluable: networking, problem-solving, and teamwork, just to name a few. By participating in our nationally recognized service programs, you can see the benefit of connecting to the community by beautifying the environment, serving a hot meal, protecting animal
s, or simply helping others. Service Saturdays
SIUE offers several volunteer projects that are open to students wishing to contribute service in the community and to find a local connection. Students participating in volunteer projects can expect to spend four to five hours providing much-needed service for various organizations. The organizations participating in SIUE’s volunteer projects include but are not limited to:
St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store – thrift store and charity supported by local parish
Willoughby Farm – public farm open for educational purposes and events
Transportation is provided for off-campus volunteer projects, and community service hours completed during the projects can be used toward completion of any program requirements including the Student Leadership Development Program, scholarships, and student organizations. More information about these projects and other opportunities is available in the Kimmel Student Involvement Center in the Morris University Center (MUC). Service-Learning Opportunities
At SIUE, service-learning is an important part of academic learning. Classes are putting more emphasis on service-learning and challenging students to take skills they have learned and apply them in the real world as part of the class requirements. Students participating in service-learning are provided with a safe, meaningful educational and non-paid position with a non-profit governmental or quasi-governmental organization. Students who complete volunteer or service-learning requirements receive credit to complete the Student Leadership Development Program. Benefits of service-learning include:
Exploring and learning about a chosen career
Learning about new career opportunities
Networking for jobs
Gaining references
Developing critical skills
Building an exceptional resume
Improving interview skills
Alternative Spring Break
Domestic Trips:
SIUE Community Engagement hosts several service trips for an alternative to the usual spring break trips. Students spend one week immersed in meaningful, fulfilling community service. Domestic trips offer opportunities to explore local nd regional areas while providing service to much needed agencies working to empower areas around them. International Trip:
In prior years Project Jamaica has offered students the opportunity to serve outside Southern Illinois and the United States while deeply exploring social issues and building lasting relationships. This trip offered students the opportunity to make a difference in an international setting, focusing on poverty relief and education in Negril, Jamaica. Each program offers participants hands-on opportunities to make a difference in the lives of both communities and individuals both globally and nationwide. The program provides SIUE students with a unique and memorable week of service and civic engagement, with opportunities for reflection, development of leadership skills and creation of strong bonds with other participants. Food Recovery Network at SIUE
Each week of the academic semester, FRN at SIUE recovers food from cafeterias, grocery stores, or restaurants that would otherwise be wasted, for simply not being used. Students then turn this food into delicious and nutritious meals that are delivered to neighborhood homeless shelters, transitional living homes, low-income families, or senior citizens.
