Community Service & Outreach

Visit the Civic Engagement website:

Civic Engagement

Civic Engagement helps provide structure and support to the student service movement that matches the real needs of the community to the resources of the student body. Allegheny students serve at over 30 local agencies on a consistent basis completing over 25,000 hours of community service annually. Through service, students demonstrate their civic commitment to issues such as poverty, homelessness, literacy, environmental protection, and domestic violence. They spend time with the elderly, low-income children and families, at-risk youth, wounded/abandoned animals, people with developmental issues, and survivors of sexual assault.

The office is involved in organizing special service events such as Make A Difference Day, Senior Citizen Recognition Day, and Alternative Spring Break Service trips. Through the Bonner Program, and the Allegheny Volunteer Service Leader Program, student Service Leaders are trained to be liaisons to community agencies to recruit, train, and orient groups of Allegheny volunteers for work at the service sites.

Some service programs, such as the Bonner Program, the America Reads Program, and the Computer Literacy Tutoring Program, offer financial assistance to students. Staff members collaborate with faculty and student service leaders to incorporate service-learning into Allegheny courses through the Service-Learning Challenge and through independent work with faculty.

Ask a Gator: Community Service

Service Organizations

Examples of organizations solely dedicated to service include Alpha Phi Omega (a coed service fraternity), Up ’til Dawn, and a campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Many other student organizations regularly engage in service, including Greek societies, residence halls, religious groups, special interest clubs, honorary societies, and athletic teams. Allegheny Volunteer Service Leaders and Bonner Leaders and Scholars, as well as the Office of Community Service, assist individuals and organizations in finding appropriate service options.