You only get what you G.I.V.E.:

Founded eight years ago, the award-winning G.I.V.E. Center was created because of the strong yearning that students had for community service. Started by Kendall Stiles and student Kate Van Cantfort, the G.I.V.E. Center “bridges the gap between town and university, student and resident.”

The G.I.V.E. Center’s roles incorporate with GC&SU’s mission as a liberal arts university. Community service, service learning, civic engagement and character education are needed to aid in the development of productive students and active and concerned citizens.

Located on the first floor of Ennis Hall (the large building across from Chick-Fil-A and behind the Governor’s Mansion), the G.I.V.E Center’s motto is that if they can make a difference in one person’s life each time they help someone, then they have done their part for society.

GC&SU students are in charge of recruiting, training, motivating and appreciating volunteers. Students also reserve spaces, secure funding, run meetings, develop partnerships with community agencies, make presentations and evaluate programs. The G.I.V.E. Center is currently looking for student coordinators, as well as volunteers.

The G.I.V.E. Center believes that a person can learn a lot from performing services, such as value clarification, career decisions, networking, transferable skills and resume building.

Students are given the options to work with children, the elderly, animals, the environment, beautification of the earth, hunger and homelessness, AIDS, health issues and more. Those who are interested in volunteering need to register with the G.I.V.E. Center as soon as possible. Once registered, a student will go through the volunteer orientation process, start volunteering, get all volunteer work or efforts verified and turn in the verification forms to the G.I.V.E. Center. Volunteer hours will be recorded on students’ experiential transcripts. This, in turn, gives students a better chance for applying for advanced studies, jobs, internships and scholarships.

Stiles encourages all students to take advantage of this new opportunity at GC&SU. For more information, call the G.I.V.E. Center at 445-5700 or 445-5936.

Project Impact
Project Impact consists of a movie, speaker and a community service project that is built on a centralized theme. These themes and issues could be around: domestic violence, cancer, AIDS and HIV awareness, eating disorders, disabilities, hunger and homelessness issues, teen suicide and depression, alcohol awareness, etc. Project Impact will take place on the third Wednesday of the month at 4 p.m. in The G.I.V.E. Center.

This service program is being co-sponsored with CAB and Blockbuster Videos.

This week’s issues are suicide and depression and to match, this week’s film is “Love Liza” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Kathy Bates. As Hoffman’s character grieves the loss of his wife, who took her own life, he becomes tangled in a world of depression that leads to a dangerous addiction.

There will be free drinks, snacks and door prizes for students who attend.

Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities:

The G.I.V.E. Center is looking for new student coordinators for the 2004-2005 school year. Student coordinators are student leaders or students that want to learn leadership skills by coordinating one or more service programs in The GIVE Center. Student coordinators are responsible for: recruiting volunteers, training volunteers with the help of The G.I.V.E. Center staff and the community agency, setting up and planning for meetings, fundraising, publicizing, making decisions about the program, tracking hours and other important information for volunteers and programs, evaluating the program and delegating responsibilities to others.

The G.I.V.E. Center’s 7th annual Volunteer Opportunities Fair will be at GC&SU on Wednesday, September 22 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Located on front campus, the fair will be near the fountain area of GC&SU. It is open to non-profit agencies and community service agencies in the local and surrounding areas. It is also open to Student Coordinated Programs under the G.I.V.E. Center and Registered Student Organizations.

The purpose of this event is to highlight organizations’ and programs’ community service efforts and to raise awareness.

There is no charge for participation in the fair, but the organization or program must contact Amy Goodrich at (478) 445-5700 by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 17th to be considered.

Participants may sign up students for volunteer opportunities, distribute promotional items, pass out informational literature and volunteer applications. Fundraisers may also be held at this fair.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 10 2004. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry