Emory University
EN-13: Community Service

Volunteer Emory (VE) is a program of Emory’s Center for Civic and Community Engagement that facilitates opportunities for service and social justice work for Emory community members. Emory employees and faculty participate in VE’s triannual Days of Service, especially Emory Cares Day in November, during which the Emory community works with local nonprofits to serve the broader metro Atlanta community. Volunteer Emory operates a variety of programs including:

Days of Service: Occurring three times a year, Volunteer Emory’s Days of Service brings together over 1,500 students, alumni, faculty, and community members to display Emory’s commitment to service. We work with local nonprofit organizations to provide service in response to the needs of the community.

Weekly Service Trips: Each week during the academic year, Volunteer Emory facilitates between 20-30 weekly service trips that provide opportunities for the Emory community to serve the Greater Atlanta area. All Volunteer Emory weekly service trips are led by trained Volunteer Emory members who have extensive knowledge of social justice and the community agency associated with each trip.  Some of these include youth, education, hunger, homelessness environmental issues, and more. Transportation for participants is provided.

Alternative Breaks: During fall and spring breaks, Volunteer Emory organizes regional and local service trips that create meaningful student development experiences while Emory students meet needs identified by various agency partners.

Community Connections: Community Connections events act as a space for students to learn of the true range of opportunities available to students, faculty, and alumni through Volunteer Emory and give organizations a space to connect and potentially collaborate. It also serves as the glue between the various departments within Volunteer Emory and the larger student body, as well as providing support with marketing and outreach of all Volunteer Emory events.

VE: http://community.emory.edu/programs/volunteer/index.html 

Emory Cares Day (20th Anniversary): https://together.emory.edu/emory-cares 

The Emory University Hardship Fund is designed to assist staff and faculty members who are experiencing temporary financial hardship due to a catastrophic event or emergency. It is funded by voluntary donations from Emory University faculty and staff, as well as other entities who want to assist Emory employees facing unexpected financial challenges. All donated funds go directly toward helping colleagues in need; no donated money is used to administer the program.

Link: https://hr.emory.edu/eu/work-life/financial-programs/hardship-fund/index.html 

Each year, staff members from every corner of the campus offer to help at one or more of Emory's Commencement events. This is a unique opportunity to engage in the emotion and pageantry that surrounds Emory's Commencement exercises, and to make a difference in the lives of many. There are opportunities to volunteer beginning with the annual Chair Rodeo where the 14,000 chairs on the Quadrangle are set up in perfect rows and zip-tied together for safety. There are also opportunities to volunteer for the Commencement itself when Emory welcomes thousands of guests. In particular, the Office of Sustainability Initiatives recruits and coordinates Zero Waste Ambassadors to assist the thousands of guests who may be unfamiliar with Emory's waste sorting system, to properly dispose of unwanted items.

https://commencement.emory.edu/volunteer/index.html 

Vote Emory

Since establishing a polling place on campus, Emory staff, students, and faculty have volunteered to welcome voters to our campus during early voting periods (2-3 weeks each election, ~3 elections per year). Emory volunteers greet and direct voters through the polling place, located at 1599 Clifton Road. Tables are staffed for most of the 12 hours each early voting day.

https://community.emory.edu/programs/evi/index.html

Emory has transitioned to a new volunteer management system. While the system records the total number of volunteer hours, at the time of reporting, it was not possible to distinguish between student and employee volunteer hours. Accordingly, we are estimating that 90% of volunteer hours are attributable to students, and 10% to employees.

Emory currently does not track service-learning courses, faculty engagement, or staff/employee hours on a university-wide scale. 

Student data are an estimation of the number of community service hours based on overall statistics maintained by the University stating that 80% of students volunteer (https://www.emory.edu/home/explore/emory-profile/facts-figures.html)