Prior to taking their first classes as Tech students, many members of the incoming freshman class will already have begun to live the Institute’s motto of “progress and service.” 

The Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement (formerly the Office of Student Involvement and Office of Community Service), working with the Office of New Student and Sophomore Programs, organized Community Connections 2012 to give freshmen the opportunity to start serving the community as soon as they arrive on campus for orientation. 

New students and their families who attended FASET sessions throughout the summer have already donated nearly 1,000 items and hundreds of dollars. The donations of travel-sized toiletries, laundry supplies and school supplies will be organized into kits for residents of the Atlanta Day Shelter for Women and Children (ADS) during a culminating event on Friday, Aug. 17. All current students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in the organizing event, which will take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom. Those interested in helping may RSVP online. 

“This is a great opportunity for new students to engage in a direct service project, to meet others who are interested in service and to learn about the range of service opportunities available at Georgia Tech,” said Sarah Perkins, civic engagement coordinator in the Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement.   

A full list of items requested by ADS is available online. Collection bins are located in the Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement (Room 2211 of the Student Center Commons) and the Office of New Student and Sophomore Programs (Room 141, Student Services Building). Monetary donations are also accepted and will be used to purchase requested items.

The Atlanta Day Shelter’s mission is to ease the burden of homelessness for women and children and assist them in becoming self-sufficient. The shelter has served as a daytime resource center for homeless women and children in the area since 1984.