The Heart and the Fist: Volunteerism

Volunteerism. (2008). In W. A. Darity, Jr. (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (2nd ed., Vol. 8, pp. 641-643). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA.

Volunteerism refers to a broad range of activities that benefit another person, group, or cause and that are carried out by individuals by their own choice and without pay. Individuals engaged in volunteerism are referred to as volunteers. Examples of volunteerism include serving on the board of a museum, organizing a protest meeting against environmental pollution, preparing food in a soup kitchen, caring for the elderly in a nursing home, looking after pets or mail for a neighbor, and the donation of blood at a blood center. However, also more controversial activities like distributing flyers for an extremist political party and providing shelter to illegal immigrants may qualify as examples of volunteerism. Read more

Americorps

VT Americorps Network

In fall 2014, VT Engage began a new AmeriCorps program in partnership with theAmerican Red Cross and Smart Beginnings NRV.

The program focuses on building awareness and capacity in the areas of disaster preparedness and response and early childhood literacy.

Twenty-one full- and part-time members were hired to serve with these organizations, with a focus on building each organization’s volunteer pipelines and expand outreach programs. Learn More

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity brings Shack-A-Thon to Blacksburg

BLACKSBURG, Va., April 11, 2014 – Beginning April 13, the Habitat for Humanity Virginia Tech chapter will host its largest fundraising event of the year. Organizers say they hope Shack-A-Thon will become an annual event focused on healthy competition in the name of philanthropy. Read more

Teach for America

Hokies teach for America: the Learning Curve

Megan Hinder '10

Virginia Tech alumni are at the forefront of a shared mission to stop educational injustice. Immersing themselves in underprivileged communities through Teach For America (TFA), a nonprofit organization devoted to expanding scholastic opportunity, Hokies are confronting the gap in achievement.

Virginia Tech's Relay For Life director steps up to serve in memory of father, in honor of mother

BLACKSBURG, Va., April 15, 2015 – Emily McCloud of Richmond, Virginia, a senior majoring in mathematics in the College of Science, has served Relay For Life at Virginia Tech from behind the scenes for the last three years. Read more

Micah's Backpack

Hunger: a call to action

Do you know where your next meal is coming from? Not all Americans do.

In 2012, “more than one in seven (17.6 million) U.S. households experienced food insecurity at some time during the year”, according to a recent Feeding America report. Read more

Campus Kitchen

Grant brings Campus Kitchen to Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va., March 25, 2015 – On a campus that serves thousands of meals each day — meals of lobster, fresh fruit smoothies, artisan sandwiches, gourmet pizzas, and all-you-care-to-eat buffets — it’s difficult to grasp that people in our own community do not have enough food for adequate nutrition. Read more

Service Learning

While the origins of the service-learning movement can be found in volunteerism, community service, citizenship training, character education, youth service, and experiential learning, it is safe to say that the words service learning have come into common usage only since the 1980s in the United States, and even later internationally. Read more