With class registration right around the corner, it is time to start thinking about all the goals you're setting for the next semester. If volunteering is at the top of your list, look no further than with Elon Volunteers! Here are four reasons why you should join this fun, exciting organization. 1.) It’s a great way to get outside of the “Elon Bubble”. Elon is a wonderful campus with an abundance of opportunities to grow as a person. Some of those opportunities means that we should take advantage of the privileges by leaving the “Elon Bubble” and interacting with the community that surrounds us. The Alamance-Burlington area is full of different ways to benefit the people who live there. By joining Elon Volunteers! You can impact the greater community around us by joining a number of different community partners such as the Boys and Girls Club, Allied Churches, the Positive Attitude Youth Center and more! This gives you the opportunity to get to see more of the world outside of Elon, even if it’s no more than a fifteen minute drive away. If going off campus isn’t your cup of tea you can still get in touch with the world outside of Elon by volunteering with organizations such as the Village Project, Elon Blood Drives, and Elon Votes! 2.) It’s a great way to make friends When you go do activities that you enjoy, even when you go by yourself, it gives you the chance to meet some new friends. You can bond over shared experiences that you have when you are volunteering. Even if you only see these friends on the days that you volunteer it can help make this experience even greater for you personally. These friendships can even extend beyond the university itself to include the people within the community you are volunteering with. The more time you spend with the people at each organization the more you learn about them-- the differences you have, but also the similarities. Volunteering can be one of the best ways to not only have life changing experiences, but also life-long friendships. 3.) Earn service hours for your ELR Volunteering is important. It provides people with a chance to have a positive impact on their community, as well as learn a little bit more about yourself. That being said, college is important too, and we’re all trying to graduate. The best way to knock out those ELR’s and have a meaningful relationship with your community? Volunteer with Elon Volunteers! That way you can log the hours you spend doing the thing you love, like playing with animals, registering people to vote, or tutoring kids in your area. What better way to knock out two birds with one stone? 4.) It can set you up for some great leadership experience Not only can you do volunteer work, you can also apply for one of the current positions open this upcoming semester! By doing so you can gain additional leadership skills that will be useful for life even beyond Elon. There are several openings for this upcoming spring semester, but you can also keep your eyes and ears open in the spring for all the opportunities to help lead any of our great organizations! 5.) It’s a great way to learn more about yourself Everybody has a great passion in life. Most people have several. However, that doesn’t mean that you’re going to love everything that you do, and that’s okay! The great thing about volunteering with EV! Is that you are never bound to one organization. This way, if you learn that maybe you don’t love doing one thing, you can explore other organizations until you find something that makes you want to volunteer. EV! Has nine service clusters with over dozens of different community partners to make sure that you find the best fit. Along the way, not only do you discover the places that you can make the greatest impact, but you can also learn what brings you the most joy too!
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I left my alternative break trip feeling more knowledgeable and passionate about addressing the issues that Native American communities are facing currently. A month ago, I went on one of the most impactful trips of my life to Eagle Butte, South Dakota on an alternative spring break trip. I knew coming into college that I wanted to take advantage of the Alternative Breaks program at Elon because I wanted to learn about different societal issues through service and meet like-minded people that cared about similar issues as me. I chose to go on the alternative break to South Dakota to explore an issue that I was very unfamiliar with: Native American housing disparities. As someone that didn’t grow up in the United States, I was very interested to learn more about the violent and painful history of Native Americans in this country as it resembles the history of indigenous people in South America. In Eagle Butte we stayed in the volunteer house of Okiciyapi-tipi, the organization we worked with for the week that operates to address issues of housing insecurity on the reservation. We worked all week doing several small projects such as building food pantries for the homeless and cooking meals for the community living there. The best part about my experience was getting to know the people that worked for the organization. Throughout the week we got to know two women very closely: Kyanne and Adele. They were both Lakota and had lived in Eagle Butte their whole lives. While our service work helped further their goal of increasing access to housing for the homeless in the community, I learned most from the conversations we had with Kyanne and Adele about their experiences on the reservation, their beliefs and their goals. As the reservation faces difficult situations with high rates of poverty, homelessness, unemployment, alcoholism and domestic abuse, these women are using their own experiences of overcoming some of these obstacles to help their community. Another amazing part of my trip was the night that we participated in a sweat lodge ceremony with a Lakota family. I felt honored to be invited into a family’s sweat lodge ceremony because it is such a vulnerable space for the Lakota to connect with their relatives, seek healing, and pray. I left my alternative break trip feeling more knowledgeable and passionate about addressing the issues that Native American communities are facing currently. It was hard to see the reality of what is going on there, but inspiring to witness the work that organizations like Okiciyapi-tipi do to alleviate the disparities. I am left interested to continue reading and learning about this topic and hopefully pursue my interest in law not only around immigration but also Native American rights. I am extremely grateful for this experience, for the people I shared this experience with, and for those that welcomed us into their community so that we could learn and work together. I would highly recommend everyone to go on an alternative break at some point during college because once you go on one, you will probably want to go on more. This alternative break was an opportunity for me to learn first hand about issues facing a community that I would not have come into such close contact or collaboration otherwise. I think that an alternative break can be the gateway to guiding your passions if you’re open and humble to the experience. Lucia Lozano Robledo is a first year honors fellow from Bogota, Colombia. Her majors are in French and International Studies with a minor in Latin American Studies. She is very interested in immigration reform and social justice issues, and is currently considering going to law school after she graduates from Elon. Any Elon student can participate in an EV! Alt Breaks program, regardless of major. Visit the EV! Alt Breaks page to learn more. Elon Alternative Breaks has given me the opportunity to gain the invaluable experience of recognizing my privilege while also giving back to other communities. After my freshman year Alternative Break experience in Atlanta, Georgia working with immigrants and refugees, I knew that I would be interested in partaking once again as a sophomore. As an Odyssey Scholar at Elon University, I've had many opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise be possible, and due to this I am extremely passionate about dedicating as much time and energy as I can to causes that I care about. Alternative Spring Breaks are a perfect way for me to do just that. When I saw that there would be a trip this year to Treasure Beach, Jamaica, focusing on rural education and poverty, I knew instantly that this was where I wanted to go. This ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made at Elon. For this week my group volunteered daily at a local primary school called the Sandy Bank Infant School. The preschoolers were cute as could be, smart, and always eager to play. Seeing the smiles on their faces and the spirit they radiated assured me that I had indeed made the right choice coming to Jamaica. I was so inspired by the teachers and everyone we interacted with for the week, and was comforted by how welcomed we were into their small, close-knit community. We also planted a sustainable garden which will be used to provide healthy snacks of fruits and vegetables to the children. As students at a four-year private institution as impressive as Elon, I find that it is quite easy to simply accept our lives as normal; as the quintessential example of reality. This isn’t a bad thing by any means, it’s just a pure fact of life. It’s easy to close yourself off from the rest of the world, to focus on your own situation and your own journey, and to ignore unfamiliar information. However, empathizing and interacting with new groups of people can be so impactful on both yourself as well as them. I feel so fortunate to be where I am today, and Elon Alternative Breaks has given me the opportunity to gain the invaluable experience of recognizing my privilege while also giving back to other communities. It’s so important to step out of your comfort zone and see the world first-hand, and I have found that Elon’s Alternative Breaks is the perfect way to do just that. Carly Zaccaria is a sophomore at Elon University majoring in International Business and Political Science. The Alternative Breaks program is open to students of any major interested in engaging in service, and offers a variety of scholarships. Find out more information about the Alternative Breaks program at Elon here. Navigate to Elon University’s Elon Volunteers! homepage and you’ll be greeted by endless opportunities to volunteer. There are over 25 organizations alone listed on the page, and they vary in topics from Affordable Housing to Food Security. But with so many options to choose from, it can often be hard to narrow it down to just one (or more, if your schedule will allow it!). Here are 4 questions you should ask yourself if you are looking to find out what organizations are right for you!
With finals looming ahead, winter break is just around the corner, and with it a chance for every student to let go of stress, school, and grades. Retreating home for the holidays is often a great relief: an opportunity to return to a world not governed by a schedule. However, we all at Elon Volunteers! believe the time we are given over breaks continues to be just as valuable as our time at Elon, and these are just a few reasons why:
It's a way to celebrate the holidays. Most often, the holidays inspire a season of giving within the hearts of every part of a community. What better reason to give back to your community than in the spirit of the season? Don't get me wrong, when you go home this winter break, do take time off from all activities you are involved in on campus. But also allow the same motivation you feel to volunteer on Elon's campus to follow you home. There's no better way to bond than by taking a Sunday with the family to volunteer at a soup kitchen together. It's a means of celebrating your own holiday while at the same time making others' that much better. It's a crucial time of the year. Celebrating giving is easy enough a prospect for those who have the means to give. For poor or impoverished families in your community, however, the holidays can often be a source of stress and turmoil. Instead of celebrating, many families are left struggling to find the means to carry on a normal life. Help out by finding a local donation box or a clothing drive by searching local churches in your community, or getting in touch if you are a part of one. Schools at this time of year will often organize toy drives, and could use the help of willing students to carry bags or boxes. If you're truly looking to make a memorable difference in someone's life this season, volunteering with your community to make a memorable holiday is the way to do it. Connect with your community. One of the biggest advantages of being a part of EV! here at Elon is the doors it opens to getting in touch with the communities surrounding campus. If you had experience volunteering with an organization before you left for Elon, your winter break is the perfect opportunity to reach out, reconnect and pick up where you left off! If you began volunteering at Elon, by transferring this outward drive to volunteer from Elon's campus to your home town you may see your own community in a new light. What better way to get to know your city, town or neighborhood by making it just a bit better? Learn more. Now that you're motivated, there is research to be done! Start by searching for your local church or volunteer organization online, and look for holiday volunteer options. Or, try VolunteerMatch, a search engine that finds opportunities for you to volunteer in any location! If you're still not persuaded, read this article. It's never too late to make a difference. Happy Holidays and Happy Volunteering! This past weekend, EV! student leaders joined faculty, staff and students from Elon and surrounding North Carolina colleges to discuss the intersections of leadership, service, and social justice at this year’s Intersect Conference. In addition to engaging with various presentations and round table discussions, a few of EV!'s student leaders also presented. One of them, Sarah Holdren, gave a presentation called, “Our Polarized World- Different Definitions of Doing Good” alongside peers Rob Bullard and Halaj Mack. If you missed the presentation, don't fret! This is what Sarah had to say about her presentation at Intersect:
We live in a world with very visible and tangible problems. Many avid volunteers- something I would consider myself to be- find that the best way to solve these issues is to “do.” Volunteering, after all, is often a very action-oriented service. However, when we really begin to look deeper at service, we find that some service isn’t always the best way to fix the issues at hand. In collaboration with DEEP, Elon’s social justice student organization, we began to pull apart these issues in a 50-minute interactive presentation. Service-learning and civic engagement, when utilizing a social justice lens, can be a very powerful force of change, but it is important to consider the components necessary to make service good service. The active citizen’s continuum, produced by Breakaway is a great resource to show what is necessary to do service in a way that produces justice. We ended our presentation with a discussion about what types of service we are all comfortable with and uncomfortable with. For example, are you more comfortable challenging a friend’s biased views of a particular group or working with campus kitchen to help with food security in Alamance county? The answers to this question can be varied, but they are certainly attributable to the amount of privilege we bring with us when doing service. That is something worthwhile for us all to consider as we work to move service from fixing a need to the complete elimination of it. Amy Belfer also contributed to the Intersect Conference in leading a discussion in collaboration with the Hall for Change. Belfer noted the accomplishments and significance of Keynote Speaker Kat Blaque, a YouTube personality and transgender rights activist. EV! collaborated with the Hall for Change, the student directed living learning community committed to social justice to present a round table on the intersections of poverty and diversity. I, alongside Sophia Diaz, led a discussion on disparities in healthcare, education, housing, and political representation. The table discussed the interconnectedness of these issues and the many systemic barriers individuals face. One example discussed was that if a child does not have access to food or secure housing, it may be harder for them to focus or succeed in school. Participants specifically touched on how people of color and immigrants (and especially immigrants who are undocumented), often have higher rates of poverty and lower rates of access to adequate health care or educational resources. To end on a note of hope and an action plan, participants discussed things their communities are doing or systemic changes that need to occur to work to alleviate poverty and end these disparities. This year’s keynote speaker was Kat Blaque. Kat Blaque refers to herself as an “intersectionality salad” and she identifies as black and as a transgender woman. During her keynote address, she discussed many transitions throughout her life including her gender transition, and her transitions into college and the workforce. She spoke about how she tried to be “stealth” (pretend she was a cisgender woman and not a transgender woman.) She bravely shared many obstacles she overcame in her life, including being outed as transgender to her peers and being kicked out of her home for being transgender. Despite people not taking her seriously and not believing in her ability to succeed in animation, she continued to follow her dreams. She has now worked on several high profile videos, and she shared a video about inclusivity she collaborated on. For a long time, Kat feared Google searches would out her. However, after working on a Buzzfeed video where she shared her experiences as a black transgender woman, she realized that even as people found out she was transgender, she still had her friends, family, relationship and career. She has let go of her fears of being visible, and serves as an inspiration to many by openly sharing her experiences and identities. Sarah Holdren and Amy Belfer are EV! student leaders at Elon University who participated in the Intersect Conference this past weekend. If you are interested in being a guest writer for EV!'s blog or know someone who would be, contact [email protected]. Whether you're a student LINCS with semesters of experience volunteering for an organization under your belt, or a first-time volunteer looking to find a way to satisfy that ELR requirement, service can be a challenge. Here are some of the most important things to remember when driving to that off-campus location or strolling into the Kernodle Center for the first time.
1. Keep an Open Mind & Be Flexible Separating from the Elon bubble means getting in touch with an environment you may not be used to. Some organizations have specialized systems of operating, and will expect you to be flexible. Other organizations may lack such a structured system, but will nonetheless require the same flexibility. You may find yourself in situations where you're forced to think on your feet, but take these moments in stride, and use them as opportunities to engage with the outside community. 2. Work Hard and Take It Seriously Volunteering is not an obligation or a duty to the community, it is an opportunity. To volunteer means to take responsibility not only to give back, but to work hard and seriously so that other members of the community may accomplish their goals, whatever that may be. The harder you work, the more you'll get to see it pay off, whether it be through your mentee getting straight A's, a senior resident cracking a joke, or seeing the finished house you helped build. 3. Remember Why You're There Even if you may think you're only volunteering because it's a requirement for your service learning class, there may be other reasons at work. The population you're working with is in need of something, and you've been lucky enough to be able to help provide it. You're there to make as much of a difference as you can. 4. Smile, Spread the Positivity & Have Fun You may stumble upon someone who's had a particularly rough day, or who isn't used to asking for assistance. Smile, be optimistic and sensitive to everyone around you. You never know what someone might be going through. Take these opportunities to look on the bright side of things, and have fun while you're at it! Make yourself as accessible as possible, and don't shy away from making real connections with others, whether they're someone in line at a food shelter or a student in the Village Project. 5. Reflect on Every Day Take the walk or ride home to remember everything you learned and experienced. What were some things that took you out of your comfort zone? What did you do that made volunteering easier for yourself and the rest of the community? Look forward to your next experience with these things in mind. No matter how many times you volunteer at a site, there will always be something new to learn. Find a lesson in everyday, and use it to make a greater positive impact on the community. For fall break, I decided to sign up for an alternative break trip. As a first- year student, I figured this would be a wonderful way to meet new friends and get more involved in the Elon community. I participated in the Community Education trip in Asheville, NC. We worked with Artspace Charter School. Artspace is a K- 8 school with an arts integrated curriculum. We first met up with a woman named Robin at the school’s thrift store. The school gets a lot of their money through the thrift store where Robin works. Robin gave us a tour of the school, and I was blown away. I was very impressed with the school, their approach to learning is very interesting. At Artspace, the teachers do not “teach to the test”, but instead teach their students how to think. They implement art into all their subjects, including math and science. On Saturday Morning, we left Elon and went straight to Artspace to begin working. On Saturday and Sunday, we did a lot of groundwork. We had to weed gardens and spread a lot of mulch. The gardening was very tedious, but I knew that this work was going to be very appreciated. As a Charter school, Artspace is not able to bring in landscapers everyday to keep the gardens looking nice. After we saw what the completed garden looked like with no weeds and brand- new mulch, it became clear why the work we were doing was very important. Keeping an academic environment beautiful and clean can give these kids a positive space to learn. Monday was the day that many of us looked forward to the most. This was the day that we were able to work in the classrooms with the students. I was assigned to work in a first- grade classroom with another Elon participant. We were given the responsibility to make corn husk dolls with the students. It was so enjoyable to get to work with the students and get to know the type of kids that attend Artspace. Observing the teacher, I noticed her teaching style. She had a great way of teaching the kids, where instead of giving them information she made them show their thinking process and how they got to their answer. The kids were great too, they all seemed to have a positive attitude towards their school. After the hours, we spent at Artspace, we were able to go relax in downtown Asheville and the River Arts District. Asheville has a lot of amazing, well- done street art. It was fun to be able to explore Asheville, the community that surrounds Artspace. In the evening, we would head back to the Montreat Center and have a group dinner made by our facilitators and then reflect on the day. I really enjoyed my fall break and was happy that I was able to attend and learn more about Artspace and how charter schools work. I would definitely recommend taking advantage of Elon’s alternative breaks because it gives opportunities to work in or outside the Elon community, and it helps and allows you to learn about different issues that is going on all around us. Nettie Leepson is a first year who participated in the 2017 Community Education Fall Alternative Breaks Program. As a part of the program, Leepson was one of many students who got to experience life engaging and educating students in Asheville. The EV! Alternative Breaks Program is a way for students to dedicate their breaks to participating in service. The program is offered over fall and spring breaks, with a variety of topics, such as Sustainable Agriculture, Criminal Justice Reform, and Disaster Relief. The locations of the programs range from here in North Carolina to Georgia, Texas and Jamaica, to name a few. To apply for an Alt Breaks Program, visit: https://www.elon.edu/u/service-learning/current-students/alternative-breaks-program/ If you are interested in being a guest writer for EV!'s blog or know someone who would be, contact [email protected]. Turtle Island: An Environmental Issues--based Experience The smile did not leave my face the whole trip. The moment we arrived at Turtle Island I knew I was someplace that was going to change me. I fell in love with it all- even the outhouses! It felt like going back in time to some fairytale- there were horses just roaming, gorgeous trees and everything was handmade out of various types of wood. It was a privilege to help Turtle Island's creator, Eustace Conway, in any small way we could. He is a wonderful man and I could listen to him talk all day, he is so wise and knowledgeable- he made me eager to get to work and make him smile and proud of us. I was lucky enough to also help out in the kitchen and learn that work as well. All of it gave me so much appreciation for what we were doing and even the food we were eating- which was amazing! Overall, the experience taught me so much about finding the deeper meaning to everything you do and to be mindful of the planet. I feel truly inspired to pass on all that I learned and to be a model for this alternative way of life. Lara Struckman is a first year who participated in the 2017 Environmental Issues Fall Alternative Breaks Program. As a part of the program, Struckman was one of many students who got to experience life without electricity and running water for a long weekend at Turtle Island Preserve in North Carolina. The EV! Alternative Breaks Program is a way for students to dedicate their breaks to participating in service. The program is offered over fall and spring breaks, with a variety of topics, such as Sustainable Agriculture, Criminal Justice Reform, and Disaster Relief. The locations of the programs range from here in North Carolina to Georgia, Texas and Jamaica, to name a few. To apply for an Alt Breaks Program, visit: https://www.elon.edu/u/service-learning/current-students/alternative-breaks-program/ If you are interested in being a guest writer for EV!'s blog or know someone who would be, contact [email protected]. Social media may not be the first thing that pops into your head when you think of service, but it is one of the most important parts. Instagram, Facebook and Twitter all offer valuable insight to an organization that relies on the participation of volunteers. Such accounts can be used to spread information about an organization quickly and easily, but this doesn’t apply to every organization.
How many service or local, nonprofit organization accounts do you follow on social media? The social-media presence of service-driven organizations are few compared to the amount of big-name companies. On Twitter alone, Target flashes a following of 1.93 million people. The official Habitat for Humanity Twitter account, a nonprofit organization well known, like Target, across the country, sports a following of 996,000 people -- about half of Target’s followers. But the numbers are even worse for local organizations. Some of the organizations partnered with EV! have no followers or no independent social media at all. So why is there such a difference in the amount of followers between nonprofits and companies? The answer may lie in an obvious lack of resources, usually of the financial type. Small, local nonprofit organizations usually can’t afford to hire a public relations company or specialist to run their independent social media accounts. But as college students, many of us are familiar with the inner workings of Twitter and Instagram. If the organization you volunteer with does not have any independent social media or is not active on social media, consider speaking with an advisor about creating an account or taking over. The result could be incredibly important to the success of the organization. Hannah Alcock, a sophomore at Elon University, began volunteering at Positive Attitude Youth Center last semester when she volunteered to help with social media. She says that her experience has shown her why social media is so important. “Nonprofits run on two things: volunteers and funding. To reach audiences that provide both of those things, the main goal of nonprofits is often awareness for their mission and programs.” Alcock said that this awareness is often spread through the channels social media offers. “With social media, we have such a unique opportunity to reach a variety of audiences and share some of the great work going on in our local communities,” Alcock said. “It gives people more of an opportunity to interact and be involved in our work because there is another level of connection with the cause when you are seeing pictures or videos versus just reading an email or getting a phone call.” Social media serves as a great link for connecting communities, a resource that allows service organizations not only to grow, but to thrive. |
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