ServiceNation, a nonprofit, national campaign, has been working with various University student organizations to organize Reach Out 2008, an upcoming two-day event that will work to increase University and local awareness of service and volunteer opportunities.
“Our hope is essentially to bring a lot of people and organizations together that are service-focused and help them to recruit new members, to network between different organizations, to get new people involved and to introduce students to U.Va. and Charlottesville service opportunities,” said fourth-year College student Graham Evans, who is helping to organize ServiceFest 2008, an event within Reach Out.
Reach Out 2008 received help, planning and funding from a number of University student organizations, including Student Council, University Programs Council, Fourth-Year Trustees, Third-Year Council, Second-Year Council and Madison House, said University alumna Lindsay Horne, who works as the Virginia change agent for ServiceNation.
“Several student organizations have been unbelievably helpful with helping me set up all of this,” Horne said. “They provided the funding for all events, set up all the publicity, met with me weekly over the last two months. They wanted to see this happen, and that’s why it is happening.”
Katelyn Mendoza, director of CIO connections with UPC, which provided funding for the event, said this is a unique opportunity for UPC, which is why the organization decided to get involved.
“UPC is really very excited about this opportunity to bring something like this on Grounds,” Mendoza said. “A lot of things we do are about entertainment, but providing this type of information is something that will have a long-lasting effect.”
Student Council Community Affairs Chair Sarah Searle also said Reach Out is enthusiastically endorsed by Council.
“It’s really great because there are so many service organizations on and off Grounds, and a lot of them share the same views,” Searle said. “Some of them are unaware of each other’s existence, and it’s exciting to have one big community engagement of advocacy weekend.”
ServiceNation dedicated Sept. 27 as a National Day of Action in which 2,400 volunteer events will occur across the country to encourage awareness of service, Horne said. As a result, ServiceNation and various University student organizations planned a number of service and volunteer-related events for Sept. 26 and Sept. 27.
Some of the events offered during Reach Out will allow students the opportunity to speak with professionals who work for nonprofit or other service organizations and learn more about these types of future career opportunities, Horne said. The first of these events will include a panel session with University graduates who presently work in service- or nonprofit-related careers.
“I heard from a number of University students that said they would love to have a job fair that shows them what job opportunities exist after graduation, and, in fact, it’s [service] that’s a huge force in the working world today,” Horne said.
Reach Out 2008 also planned a nonprofit and service job fair Sept. 27 in the Amphitheater. That event will include more than 30 companies and organizations that will work to educate students about the many job opportunities available to students after graduation and also will recruit students for positions.
“We also have 30 organizations coming to U.Va. that Saturday, and they’ll show students those hundreds of opportunities that exist in Washington D.C., in Charlottesville and across the country,” Horne said. “The Peace Corps and Teach for America will be here, but we’ll also have smaller organizations that have job openings.”
Another event that will be included in Reach Out is ServiceFest. That event will start with an activities fair, in which local Charlottesville and University volunteer organizations will come together and educate students about what volunteer opportunities exist, Evans said.
“There is definitely a focus on getting people engaged,” Evans noted. “There is a lot of stuff going on here in Charlottesville that isn’t being addressed. Service isn’t just us as University students fixing the world, but also working with local community members and helping them to realize the best vision they have for their community.”
Later in the evening, ServiceFest will host speakers from the University and Charlottesville communities, including Mayor Dave Norris, followed by a carnival that will allow students and representatives from organizations to participate in games and other activities together, Evans said.
“This is just the beginning.” Evans said. “This isn’t just Reach Out 2008 because there is going to be a Reach Out 2009 and 2010 and 2011. I’ve see a lot of energy being brought up around these issues and it’s just going to continue to explode. It’s an exciting time to be at good old U.Va.”
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