In the University of Nebraska Omaha different organizations, programs and clubs participate in community service projects and activities throughout the year. One main contributor to this area is The Office of Civic & Social Responsibility and the signature service days they host throughout the year.
The Office of Civic & Social Responsibility now located in the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center at UNO, hosts a wide variety of opportunities for students and city organizations to work on community service activities.
Some of these include but are not limited to the Seven & Three Days of Service days, and specifics dates dedicated to focus the help to certain holidays and commemorative dates like the Annual Reverse Trick or Treat and the Veterans Day of Service.
The Collaborative is a student-led program from the OCSR and coordinates and organizes days like Veterans Day of Service. The students are in charge of organizing these service days, but also have the task of reaching out to community partners, and non-profits in order to find new opportunities and ways students can help each organization’s specific needs.
How are students reached?
According to the Collaborative Program Coordinator at the Office of Civil & Social Responsibility, Harnoor Singh, there is a wide variety of ways to reach students volunteers.
This includes methods as word of mouth from the office’s student employees to their friends and networks, to a marketing campaign, “We also have a marketing campaign that starts several weeks before the particular service day, and so we reach them through digital media, we reach them trough social media.”
Something Singh made notice of when talking about their ways of reaching out students, is how students generally come to the office by themselves “seeking service opportunities,” due to their genuine interest and passion for service at UNO.
How does participating in community service with the Office of Civic & Social Responsibility actually is?
On November 12, 2016, Veterans Day of Service took place in which students had the opportunity to serve at some VFWs, but also serve other organizations in memory of Veterans.
UNO student Annabelle Abisset participated at Veterans Day of Service in which she served as a lead volunteer in her group. Abisset and her group went to Open Door Mission, in which they helped out in sorting donations, clothes and coats. “I was the lead volunteer, so I was in charge of gathering my group, making sure everybody was there and then on the bus making sure we had the head count” Abisset, A.
As the group lead, Abisset was also in charge of communicating with the coordinators before lunch, and help with the completion of any other assessments in order to fulfill their service.
Why do students participate and what they gain from it?
Doing community service is important and productive for many reasons. Students and community members get to work together in order to benefit others or a cause, it is free, and students can fulfill their service hours required, but there are more benefits students can take advantage of.
Abisset shared, “Is interesting because every time it is always different,” “we are never doing the same thing” [In regards with the activities available to help with, during the variety of days dedicated to serve]. This keeps the community service fun and interesting for new and returning volunteers. Students also get the chance to meet new people and organizations by volunteering.
“This idea of community engagement spreads wide beyond just the UNO community, it spreads into the Omaha metropolitan area. It allows our students to learn about the communities that they are in, but then also give back to those same communities” Singh, H.
With over 50 to 180 students coming to serve in signature service days (depending on the event and days), students from diverse backgrounds and careers have been participating and are invited to join in future opportunities to serve, learn, help, and create new relationships.
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