OUR MESSAGE TO STUDENTS

The Office of Civic Engagement subscribes to the notion that preservation of a democratic “community” (however one chooses to define this term) relies upon participation of its members.  We encourage students to consider the role they play as individuals within larger social, public, and environmental systems, and to recognize that no matter where they are or what they do, they will always be members of a community in which they choose whether or not to act in ways that enhance it.  We look for ways to move students beyond more traditional practices of volunteerism, service, and activism to begin crafting action that resonates with their passions, talents, and academic work, and that strengthens and ameliorates their communities.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT STATISTICS

• Over 70% of the student population participates in civic engagement, including community-based learning, activism, and community service.
• During the 2010-11 academic year, 862 students spent over 20,000 hours performing co-curricular outreach as volunteers and activists.
• Southwestern University has earned national acclaim for its civic engagement activities from the Carnegie Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service.

We want to help students, Paideia cohorts and organizations find meaningful and transforming civic engagement experiences. The links on this website may only be the beginning of your search, but hopefully they will be helpful resources. If you’re having trouble or just need someone to talk to, feel free to e-mail the Student Specialist and we’ll see if we can help you find something!

Do you want to advertise your opportunity? This link is a template that identifies some of the key information that you might want to provide us with. You can send your notices to the Student Specialist - we publish every Tuesday so please try to get your notice in before then.

We also collect data on the types of civic engagement that Southwestern students do every year. To assist in this, help us out by keeping track of your hours using these helpful handouts: Volunteer Log Template and the Volunteer Activity Log

FROM STUDENTS - WE WANT YOUR STORY!

Participated in something life-changing? We want to know about it! E-mail the Student Specialist with quotes, pictures, or any other form of testimonial about your experience in civic engagement and we will add it to our website. By participating in this process, Southwestern students will have a growing resource of testimonial to go to when thinking about different opportunities to get involved.

GENERAL RESOURCES

Civic Engagement Definitions What is civic engagement and what does this office do? A good place to get started if you’re just starting to get involved.

How Do You Define Civic Engagement? An activity you can do alone or with a class, Paideia cohort or other group to learn more about civic engagement.

2010-2011 Civic Engagement Summary A summary of civic engagement activities at Southwestern that took place during the 2010-2011 school year.

2010-2011 Co-Curricular Civic Engagement Summary A summary of co-curricular civic engagement activities at Southwestern with an emphasis on student organization driven activities.

NPO Guide to Social and Public Services A helpful document to provide the Southwestern University community and members of our greater community with information about local agencies and organizations that address key systemic issues in Central Texas. This document may also be used by community members seeking services from the organizations herein. Also in Spanish.

Volunteer Match A great resource to search for your dream opportunity. Get in touch with organizations and personalize the searching process.

Hands on Central Texas Just like Volunteer Match, Hands on Central Texas provides listings of opportunities, but these are particular to the Central Texas area, and their front page has up-to-date postings of events where people are most needed.

 

EXTERNAL WEBSITES

• Youth Noise, offers tools that equip youth to take action for a wide range of social issues
• Idealist.org, an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas and locate opportunities and supporters
• Campus Activism, an open online database of activist related information
• Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans
• Campus Compact, a national higher education association dedicated to campus-based civic engagement
• The Georgetown Project, a non-profit organization devoted to building a healthier community for all children and youth in Georgetown
• Whitehouse.gov
• Kinded.com, a movement inspiring kind acts
• The Freecycle Network, a grassroots movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns
• Greenlights, a catalyst for extraordinary nonprofit performance in Central Texas
• Ted Talks, 18 minute talks by the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers