Georgia Tech’s motto, "Progress and Service," permeates our campus community and our students take great pride in the tradition of service that exists at Georgia Tech. Civic engagement at Tech includes student-led community service, academic service-learning, K-12 outreach with an emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, and campus-wide service projects.  Student involvement in co-curricular community service initiatives is one of many examples where Georgia Tech students work together to make a positive impact. There are 500 chartered student organizations; 50 of them identify service as their primary focus. Regardless of the primary focus, student organizations develop and provide service opportunities for members as a community-building tool within an organization. In addition, students feel strongly that service is part of their role as a Tech student and as a citizen of Atlanta.

To introduce the tradition of service to all incoming students, the Office of Leadership & Civic Engagement, in collaboration with the Office of New Student & Sophomore Programs, sponsored “Community Connections,” a summer-long collection drive to benefit the Atlanta Day Shelter for Women and Children.  All families and students were encouraged to participate at their FASET session by donating a school supply or toiletry item. The project culminated with an on-campus service event on Friday, August 17 where 90 freshmen volunteered to assemble the donated goods into care packages for delivery to the Atlanta Day Shelter. We are delighted to report that we collected more than $275 and 3,000 items.  Thank you to all the students and families who participated and helped to put “Progress and Service” into action!

The student organization, MOVE (Mobilizing Opportunities for Volunteer Experience), hosted its annual freshman day of service program, “Into the Streets,” on Saturday August 25. The event engaged 200 participants in 14 service projects throughout the Metro Atlanta area. Last month, TEAM Buzz hosted its annual campus-wide day of service.  Approximately 1,345 volunteers served with 38 different community service projects ranging from forest restoration activities to community cleanups to medical assistance projects.

In addition to the days of service, there are on-going weekly and monthly service opportunities such as tutoring and mentoring as well as volunteering in local hospitals or with the Georgia Special Olympics through student organizations such as Circle K, Omega Phi Alpha, Student Hospital Connections, GOALS (Georgia Outreach: Advancing the Lives of the Special-needs), MOVE, and the English Avenue Youth Enrichment Program. Jumpstart at Georgia Tech, an AmeriCorps program that recruits college students to tutor in local preschool classrooms to foster early childhood language and literacy skills, continues to excel.  Currently, there are 18 Jumpstart Corps Members who have made the commitment to complete 300 hours of community service during the academic year.

The spring 2013 semester will continue to build upon the momentum and energy that service at Georgia Tech experienced this fall.  Traditions such as Tech Beautification Day, the MLK Day of Service, the Women’s Day of Service, Relay for Life, and Dance Marathon are all planned for the spring semester.  Additionally, alternative service breaks are a popular activity during the Institute’s spring break.  Multiple student organizations such as Alternative Service Breaks, Trailblazers, and FIMRC (Foundation for the International Medical Relief of Children) will host these group-oriented service immersion trips in March.

For more information about Georgia Tech’s service organizations and civic engagement initiatives, please visit Leadership & Civic Engagement website leadandengage.gatech.edu and jacketpages.gatech.edu.