For those who are new to the Auburn area, the opportunities to serve the local community may be unfamiliar to them.
Opportunities both on campus and in the community are endless. Organizations such as Alabama Rural Ministry, East Alabama Food Bank, and the Salvation Army are always looking for sharp minds and skilled hands to help them with their respective missions.
There are numerous on-campus organizations whose sole purpose is to connect students with service opportunities which they are passionate about.
AU Involve is the main resource solicited to students, as it has all students organizations listed by name, accompanied by all officer and event information.
Robert Powers, an Auburn graduate, advises six different programs in the Office of Student Involvement. These include Alternative Student Breaks, Auburn University Dance Marathon, the Beat Bama Food Drive, IMPACT, and the Big Event.
Alternative Student Breaks is a program which allows small groups of 10-12 Auburn students to spend one week during their winter or spring breaks serving in communities around the nation and the world. This year, trips include Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.
Auburn University Dance Marathon, or AUDM, partners with Children’s Miracle Network to raise funds for children in hospitals. They host fundraising competitions throughout the year, and their work culminates during the main event on Feb. 10, 2018, when teams of dancers from the Auburn campus get together to dance for 12 hours in the University Student Center.
Beat Bama Food Drive is a competition between Auburn University and the University of Alabama, the goal of which is to help out the food banks and food insecure families within the state of Alabama. The partnership began in 1994, and each year, the two schools compete to bring in the most food by weight. in the last 25 years, they have collected more than five million pounds of food.
IMPACT is the largest on campus organization, with more than 10,000 hours of service, that works with 16 different agencies around the Auburn-Opelika communities to provide services for nonprofit organizations, religious organizations, and families of the community. Students meet every week at the intramural fields to go out to serve.
The Big Event is one day in the Auburn-Opelika community where more than 1700 students come together to take on 175 locations around the area. This academic year’s Big Event will be held on March 1, 2018. Students, faculty, and families will gather to take on yard work and light painting for local families and nonprofits. Rogers says, “This is a small town… this helps us care for each other. Folks depend on this throughout the year.”
Stephen Black, the chairman and founder of Impact Alabama, which is now Impact America, talks about the “obligation of the elite.” By this, he means that college students have a responsibility to care for those who are less well off than themselves. He encourages students to get involved, and to give more of themselves to others.
On Aug. 23, from 2 to 2:45 p.m., the Office of Student Involvement will host their Community Service Kickoff event. All six of the above organizations will be represented on the green space. Rogers tells students, “We would love to have you join in serving us… It is such a cool opportunity to serve and to meet new people.”
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