Starting this month, The Office of Student Leadership & Civic Engagement (SLCE) will launch a new service initiative, Coffee and Community, as a way to involve more students in community service opportunities whose schedules may not accommodate traditional weekend or evening service events.
Emily Konicki, a programming assistant with SLCE said, “We really started the opportunity for students who might not be able to come out [to] weekend events or who can’t come out to our Service in the City events at night.”
The daytime event, Coffee and Community, held monthly at different locations, will give students the ability to participate in service at a variety of local non-profit organizations around Broward County.
Concetta D’Alessio, the assistant director for SLCE, explained that each service opportunity will leave in the morning with provided coffee, bagels and donuts — thus the name of the event. Additionally, for all events, transportation is provided from Shark Circle to the service location.
D’Alessio said, “Each month is a different social issue, a different time and a different [opportunity] to travel to a new non-profit in the area.”
The first event will be held on Jan. 29 at the Broward County Animal Care and Adoption Division, where students will be assisting at the shelter. On Feb. 12, students will have the opportunity to work with Junior Achievement South Florida volunteering as facilitators in JA BizTown, which teaches 5th grade students financial literacy through experiential education. An additional opportunity will be held in March, with the time and details announced soon.
Konicki explained that the service events are a great way for students to immerse themselves in a field they may be interested in and a great way to diversify both their interests and resumes.
D’Alessio also added, “It’s an opportunity to try something new, even if you have done it in the past or if you’ve never done community service. Come out and try something new… If you don’t have a friend to come with you, there are lots of students who don’t know each other and end up forging really good connections.”
Sign-ups for each event can be found on Shark Hub and more information on the events, including times and dates can be found on the SLCE page. Early sign up is recommended, as each event only accommodates around 12 students and spots may fill up quickly.
