The GIVE Center ‘inspires’ students

Spiritual and political leader Gandhi told people to “be the change you wish to see in the world.” GCSU students now have the opportunity to do that through Inspire By Example, a new organization at The GIVE Center.
Inspire By Example will provide up to $100 service grants to students who have a service idea and want to give back to their school or the community.
Kendall Stiles, director of The GIVE Center, originally came up with the proposal for additional funding. She heard about a national organization called “Do Something,” which provides people between the ages of 14 to 24 with volunteer opportunities in their local area. When thinking of a proper title for the organization, she decided to use the word ‘inspire’ because that is one of The GIVE Center’s missions.
“It’s one of the best words in the dictionary,” said Stiles. “It’s what we do.”
Filling out an application is the first step in the process of acquiring a mini-grant for one’s service idea. The student must choose a non-profit organization, or their proposal will not be considered.
“This is not a donation,” said Stiles. “This is a grant.”
The student or student group may then be contacted by The GIVE Team, a group comprised of 12 GCSU servant leaders. They will need to meet with a selection committee during one of the three specified evaluation dates of the week. If three or more GIVE Team leaders agree to award the student or student group with a grant, they can then implement their service idea and begin to inspire others.
Lyric Burnett, sophomore pre-mass communication major, is the servant leader for Inspire By Example. One of her main responsibilities involves doing PR for service grants in order to recruit students for the organization.
“I want to be able to plant seeds in their heads that we are willing to help,” said Burnett. “We want students to realize that this is a great opportunity and they don’t have to start at the bottom.”
Pi Kappa Phi is one of the first student groups to submit an application for a service grant. If given a grant, their fraternity brothers will take turns riding a stationary bike placed on the front lawn of the Arts & Science building for 36 hours.
Alex Beck, vice president of Pi Kappa Phi and senior outdoor education major, will be presenting their proposal this week. “Anything we do charity wise is for Push America,” said Beck. “They’re our national philanthropy. We want to raise awareness for people with disabilities and raise money for Push America by collecting donations.”
Once the student or student group has completed their service project, they must submit a project completion report and turn in itemized receipts in order to receive the grant. Funds will be given only for the items on the receipt and only up to $100.
Inspire By Example is sponsored by SGA, The GIVE Center and Hands on Milledgeville. Applications can be picked up at The GIVE Center. The application includes the guidelines for the mini-service grants and the steps for submitting a project completion report.
Anyone with an interest in giving to and inspiring others can be a part of Inspire By Example.
“It’s not about how you write or how you speak,” said Stiles. “It’s about how passionate you are about the cause.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Jan 25 2008. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry