New “Caring to Act Calendar” coordinates VCU community service efforts

By Mike Porter

Community service is a central focus of the VCU experience, and throughout any given school year, students, staff and faculty spend thousands of hours participating in food collections, clothing drives, after-school mentoring, cleanup campaigns and other activities.

Now it has become even easier to get involved in projects in the Richmond region. 

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Division of Community Engagement and the Council for Community Engagement have launched a new “Caring To Act Calendar,” allowing individuals or groups to volunteer for or sponsor worthwhile community projects.

“We got the idea last year when we were putting together the 40 Acts of Caring, a collection of university-community projects that reflect our engagement with the community in honor of VCU’s 40th anniversary celebration,” said Catherine W. Howard, Ph.D., vice provost, Division of Community Engagement. “We were just humbled by the quality and variety of activities. People started asking – how can we get involved?  And we started to think about how we could coordinate some of these efforts to have an even larger impact on the community.”

Howard’s division recognized the value in creating a single location where anyone interested in volunteering could learn about projects and easily sign up. The division joined forces with “HandsOn Greater Richmond,” which has a similar mission and already has an online site for matching volunteers with community service organizations.

Once the infrastructure was in place, the division sought submissions from the university community for worthwhile projects for the calendar. Community Development Coordinator Ron Brown carefully put together a list. 

 “This is a great opportunity for students, employees and alumni to sign up for some university-endorsed community service projects,” Brown said. “It’s a fun way to participate in a meaningful activity as a team and a great option for student organizations.”

VCU’s community service leave policy provides 12-month employees with 16 hours of paid leave each calendar year to participate in volunteer community service organizations.

“One reason this is organized is that we heard so much from VCU staff about their desire to be involved in community-based service activities,” Howard said. “The calendar will allow staff to use their community service hours for university-sanctioned events.”

Upcoming opportunities for involvement include “Project Homeless Connect,” on Nov. 19 at the Richmond Convention Center, where volunteers can assist homeless people obtain community resources, and a month-long kids’ winter coat drive coordinated by the VCU Staff Senate and YMCA of Greater Richmond. A complete list may be found at the Caring To Act Calendar. Volunteers can register at HandsOn Greater Richmond.

For more information, contact Ron Brown at rbrown34@vcu.edu or 804-827-1904.