College Pairs Agencies with Volunteers

Author: Karen Acheson

It is easy to get caught up in the daily routine at Middlebury College, which for most students is jam-packed with classes, athletics or other extracurricular activities.

The College has taken steps to make it easier for students to become involved in local volunteering.

Over half of all Middlebury students volunteer at some point during their college career, and according to Margaret Sanchez, coordinator of the Page 1 Literacy Project, "We have approximately 1,100 students in the area who volunteer locally each year."

What many students on campus may not realize is that even within a community as small as Middlebury, there are numerous opportunities to get involved.

As Sanchez noted, "There are over 50 agencies and organizations in the local community that are serviced by Middlebury College volunteers."

The Office of Service Learning and Student Employment estimates that students volunteer nearly 21,000 hours of service annually.

According to Sanchez, "The dollar value of those hours would be about $210,000."

For first time volunteers, the Office of Service Learning on the ground floor of the McCullough Student Center is a good place to start.

The College provides a "Volunteer Opportunity Guide" to interested students that lists all the opportunities in the area, and the staff also has information on individuals in the area who have requested assistance from students.

Students are asked to fill out a volunteer registration form that requests information pertaining to their interests and schedules, and the office will do its best to match them with a compatible local organization.

Time commitments range from a one-time event to weekly commitments which Sanchez said "[C]an range from one to four hours per week," adding, "many of the opportunities are very flexible."

The types of programs available include working with local school districts or spending time with the elderly. Currently there is a need for drivers for Meals On Wheels, a food delivery service, as well as volunteers to help at the Open Door Clinic, a program that assists under-insured and uninsured people in Vermont.

A list of volunteer opportunities is available online at www.middlebury.edu/~slse/.

The goals of the Office of Service Learning are summed up on its Web page, which reads, "This newly configured office demonstrates the College's commitment to fulfill its mission to help students prepare to take their place as thoughtful, ethical leaders able to meet the challenges of informed citizenship."