Looking to stay involved after Welcome Week? Check out AU’s new Community Service Club.
The new Student Government-sponsored club will coordinate different projects and create more service opportunities.
The CSC is an umbrella organization that connects service resources on campus and streamlines communication among all of them, according to SG President Nate Bronstein.
The organization was created last semester by School of Public Affairs sophomore Stephen Bronskill. He said it was a way to bring together students and organizations that do not normally collaborate, and it pools their resources to make a larger impact than they could have separately.
The CSC is planning volunteer opportunities to take place in the fall for students to help prepare food at D.C. Central Kitchen, plant trees with Casey Trees and serve veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
The AU Center for Community Engagement and Service — formerly the Community Service Center and currently located in Mary Graydon Center 273 — will work with the Coalition, Bronstein said.
Staff members of the Center will attend weekly meetings and give the Community Service Coalition requests for volunteers to be conveyed to the student body.
Individual students working on social action projects can also use the Center for Community Engagement and Service to connect with the Coalition and receive support for their projects.
Organizations that have already joined the coalition include the Roosevelt Institute, College Republicans, College Democrats, Eco-Sense and the School of Public Affairs Leadership Program.
The Lions Club and myImpact.org will also be working closely with the Coalition. This is the first time the Lions Club, an internationally-known service organization, will be brought to campus, and it will help connect the Coalition to service resources all over D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
Another resource is the website myImpact.org, started by AU alumnus Chris Golden. The site is a vehicle for documenting volunteers’ commitment to service. Users can create a free profile and update it through Twitter or directly through the website. Volunteers record, share and track their impact. This year’s Freshmen Service Experience program will be using the site, according to Bronstein.
There will be a kick-off meeting for all students interested in the SG’s fledgling coalition during the second week of school. Weekly meetings and weekly service events will take place throughout the rest of the year, Bronskill said.
Updates on volunteer events can be found on the CSC’s website or on its Facebook page. Any students interested in joining the coalition’s leadership team or having their organization join the coalition can contact Bronskill at stephen.bronskill@ausg.org.
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