Community Service and CCE Events Coming up
The Center for Community Engagement hosts numerous events and community service opportunities each month. Below are some upcoming events! If you're interested in having ISU students participate in a community service project around the Wabash Valley, please email Alex Whitmore at alex.whitmore@indstate.edu.
If you are a student looking for community service opportunities, check out the calendar on the CCE Root site for up-to-date service:
Since ISU students first went to Jackson, Mississippi in 2004, for Alternative Spring Break (ASB), hundreds of Sycamores have participated in a variety of Alternative Break (AB) projects throughout the United States. Outreach efforts have included: working with youth, working with the elderly, environmental rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitation, Gulf Coast clean-up, and minor home repair. Alternative Break is a student-driven national movement that creates opportunities for students to reach out to communities around the United States and internationally. It fosters a lifelong commitment to citizenship and community engagement. While participating in AB, students will gain knowledge, learn practical skills, and become more aware of the many social and environmental issues in the United States and around the globe.
If you have questions about the Alternative Breaks program, please contact the Center for Community Engagement at 812.237.2334 or Alex Whitmore at Alex.Whitmore@indstate.edu.
Indiana State Advantage Experience Grant can be used for an Alternative Break Trip. Apply through your Indiana State Portal. Click the Branch App to get started. (You must be accepted on the trip first.) Check out the Experience Grant website for more information.
The American Democracy Project is a multi-campus initiative that seeks to create an intellectual and experiential understanding of civic engagement for undergraduates enrolled at institutions that are members of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. The goal of the project is to produce graduates who understand and are committed to engaging in meaningful actions as citizens in a democracy. The American Democracy Project is co-sponsored by AASCU and the New York Times and includes nearly 200 AASCU institutions.
At Indiana State, ADP engages students in democratic life in a host of ways. With its targeted political engagement programming, field trips, and institutional-level engagement efforts such as developing and implementing the Campus Vote Plan, ADP is at the center of electoral and democratic engagement at Indiana State. Specific programs include voter registration efforts, invited speakers, presidential debate watches, State of the Union Tweet-Ups, hosting local candidate forums, and many more such events.
Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Citizens acting alone or together to protect public values or make a change or difference in the community are common types of civic engagement.
To learn more about ADP or upcoming events, visit our Root Site or email: Alex.Whitmore@indstate.edu for more information.
Donaghy Day will be August 19, 2024.
At Indiana State University we pride ourselves in providing opportunities for experiential learning and public service.
Donaghy Day is a day of service set aside for the community to celebrate the season and to work to help beautify the campus and surrounding community.
Students have the opportunity to give back to ISU and the Terre Haute community by working on various projects at various sites.
The University's Center for Community Engagement partners with over thirty non-profit organizations within Terre Haute to create this day of service.
If you have a location needing service or would like to volunteer to assist with Donaghy Day please email Alex Whitmore at Alex.Whitmore@indstate.edu
The annual Terre Haute Human Rights Day is a day-long event. Each year a keynote speaker is featured along with several other speakers, interactive workshops, and a variety of other activities. While centered on the Indiana State University campus, the programming represents the work of many individuals from both ISU and the Terre Haute community and will involve both public school and university students.
Save the Date: March 19, 2025
Indiana State University, Hulman Memorial Student Union
We will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday January 20 AND Thursday January 24, 2024. ISU Sycamore students will be joining countless other citizens around the nation to give back to the Terre Haute community. MLK Day of Service is a day dedicated to making an impact around the community while remembering Martin Luther King Jr. greater mission. We have plenty of service opportunities and would love for you and your organization to join. A sign up will be added in December!
Please contact Alex.Whitmore@indstate.edu with questions.
At Indiana State University we pride ourselves on providing opportunities for experiential learning and public service.
Honor the Dream. Be Great. Volunteer.
Where Curiosity Never Retires
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Indiana State University is a member-centered community of adult learners that offers programs designed for men and women age 50 and "better" who wish to pursue lifelong learning in a relaxed non-competitive atmosphere with a dynamic schedule of programs and activities that includes courses, presentations, special events, and travel opportunities. There are no entrance requirements, grades, or tests; it's your experience, and your love of learning that counts, no college background is needed. OLLI collaborates Indiana State University, Rose-Hulman Institute for Technology, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, as well as numerous local organizations and not-for-profits in the Wabash Valley.
Thanks to the generosity of The Bernard Osher Foundation, OLLI at Indiana State University joins a network of 125 Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes across the United States, and OLLI at ISU is the only Osher Institute in the state of Indiana. Nationwide, the Osher Institutes meet the needs of over 130,000 older learners who want to learn simply for the joy of learning and personal fulfillment.
Indiana State is proud to be the birthplace of Special Olympics in the state of Indiana.
From a gathering of a few dozen individuals at Indiana State on June 6, 1969, Special Olympics Indiana has grown to more than 10,000 athletes and 7,000 volunteers statewide. Indiana has played an integral role in the history of the organization, hosting the Summer Games 41 out of 43 years and hosting the organization’s Men’s State Basketball Tournament since 1971.
In addition to hosting the Men’s Basketball Tournament and Summer Games, Indiana State is one of 10 sites for Polar Plunge, an annual fundraiser for Special Olympics Indiana that takes place during the month of February. The Terre Haute Plunge takes place in conjunction with Sycamore Hoopla on the patio of Hulman Center.
About Special Olympics Indiana
Special Olympics Indiana is a not-for-profit organization that provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in more than 20 Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, reaching more than 11,000 athletes across Indiana. The organization receives no federal- or state-appropriated funds, is not a United Way agency and relies entirely on corporate, civic and individual donations.
Student Involvement Fair
August 19, 2024 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
The Center for Community Engagement and the Office of Campus Life have partnered together to create the Student Involvement Fair. ISU student organizations and community non-profit partners participate.
This resource fair style event is a convenient way to allow nonprofit organizations the opportunity to recruit ISU student volunteers, share volunteer experiences, network with other agencies, and promote their agency and the services they provide to our community - all from one location!
Contact Alex Whitmore if you are a Community Partner interested in participating or any other questions at Alex.Whitmore@indstate.edu
The Center for Community Engagement launched Sycamore Community Work in the fall of 2017. This program has continued our relationship with community partners by placing students in the community for employment opportunities with our local non-profit agencies. If you would like to apply for a position, please go to the Student Employment website and search under the Community Works tab. If you have questions about this program, please contact Alex Whitmore at alex.whitmore@indstate.edu
The Center for Community Engagement is collaborating with several community partners throughout the Wabash Valley for Sycamore Service Saturdays. Service hours will be 9 a.m. - Noon. Each student is required to register online. Student(s) will check-in at registered sites. Registered below:
Fall 2024 Dates
September 14
October 19
November 16
Sign up HERE