Giving Back to Your Community: Volunteering Opportunities at FSU and around Tallahassee

In the midst of the holidays, a great way to celebrate your community and show appreciation for the Tallahassee area is through volunteering for various projects or organizations on and off-campus. The Center for Leadership and Social Change has a plethora of resources that can assist your student in satisfying community service requirements and ServScript hours for various scholarships, honor societies, and service-learning communities. Each organization is categorized by agency issues right here in the Tallahassee area, and consist of things like Animal and Environmental Services, Youth Education and Development, Community Safety and Government Services, and more.

Here are a few diverse organizations that your student can partake in so they can give back to the community this fall: 

Special Olympics in Leon County - Special Olympics Florida provides a free year-round sports training and competition for those who are children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With over one thousand athletes in Leon County and 17 different sports offered, this program relies on volunteers to help Special Olympics and its athletes as they compete throughout the year.

FSU Sustainable Campus - Established roughly in 2010 after almost 6 years of sustainability efforts, FSU Sustainable Campus has a variety of programs, events, opportunities to encourage campus to become more eco-friendly at Florida State. Programs like Eco-Reps, Food Recovery Network, Garnet and Gold Goes Green, Take Back the Tap, reCycle Bike, and the Seminole Organic Garden offer students ways to get involved on campus in many different ways. FSU Sustainable Campus also encourages volunteers for their cornerstone events like Sustainability Showdown, FSU Earth Month, and Chuck it for Charity.

LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts - The LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts was created in the early 1960s by four community members dedicated to showcasing arts education and art education activities in the North Florida area. Between, education classes for anyone in the community, events throughout the year, and exhibitions, the Center is always searching for more volunteers to make the arts more accessible to the Tallahassee community.

Alzheimer’s Project, Inc. -  For this nonprofit, local project, its mission is to provide persons with memory disorders and their caregivers with comfort, support, and assistance. The Alzheimer’s Project offers numerous opportunities to volunteer at their events, with the Meals on Wheels Delivery Service, and at their office, to name a few.

Big Bend Habitat for Humanity - Habitat for Humanity strives to build homes and a sense of community in and around the Big Bend area. With all of this responsibility, people in the community are encouraged to volunteer through different committees and positions. You can begin your volunteer experience on one of their 5 committees, as a public relations volunteer, by distributing meal donations, or as a crew leader.

FSU Pride Student Union - The FSU Pride Student Union was established in 1969 and is FSU’s largest and most prominent LGBTQ+ student-run organization. As one of the 6 Executive Agencies within the Student Government Association, Pride Student Union advocates, empowers, and brings together LGBTQ+ students and people in Tallahassee. Volunteers for this organization can maintain the LGBTQ+ Resource Center, give tours to those visiting the Resource Center, and ensure that the Pride Guidelines are being adhered to by visitors.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Big Bend - This local organization believes in the potential of every child within our community; they focus on ensuring and nurturing children into successful and thriving members of the community. Volunteers assist in this mission by becoming a “Big Brother” or “Big Sister” to one of the children within the program and by helping at events.

To view additional volunteer opportunities in and around FSU and Tallahassee, visit The Center for Leadership and Social Change here.