University of Victoria
EN-13: Community Service

UVic's annual United Way campaign incorporates many staff-led activities that raise funds for the organization that are used on community children's programs, solving poverty issues and building healthy communities. Staff fundraising initiatives include a used book sale, a craft fair and pledges for team plasma car races. Over $250,000 is raised by staff each year under this program. Each year two UVic staff members are selected to participate in the Leadership Victoria program, a leadership program focused on community service including sustainability and social justice issues (see: http://web.uvic.ca/hr/forms/Leadership%20Victoria/Flyer%20Call%20for%20Applications%202013%20for%20web.pdf).

Information on Project Serve Day is available at the website: http://www.uvic.ca/volunteers/project-serve-day/placements/index.php It includes a list of organizations that over 300 students volunteered with in October 2016. The Coop and Career website provides information on student volunteering opportunities http://www.uvic.ca/coopandcareer/other-experiential/volunteering/index.php as well as Community Service Learning (CSL) opportunities http://www.uvic.ca/coopandcareer/other-experiential/community/index.php UVic offers students a variety of opportunities to participate in community service learning for credit. Social Sciences 300: Working In Community is an interdisciplinary full credit one semester course available to any student in the Social Sciences that includes 40 hours of voluntary work with a community organization. Pacific and Asian Studies 209: Intercultural Service Learning includes community service learning in an inter-cultural setting. See: http://www.uvic.ca/coopandcareer/studentsalumni/resources/csl/csl.php. The Environmental Law Clinic offers law students the opportunity to work under the supervision of a senior environmental lawyer to provide legal representation and legal assistance to community/conservation groups and First Nations, produce citizen handbooks and other public legal education materials, and advocate on a wide range of environmental law reform issues. See: http://www.elc.uvic.ca/clinic/index.htm. The Redfish School of Change accepts 16 UVic students per year for an interactive summer field school. Over the course of five weeks, students in this interdisciplinary leadership program live and learn in some of the most beautiful places in British Columbia, working alongside local food producers and ecological restorationists, and engaging with experts in the fields of environment and social justice by creating and implementing a Community Action Project. See: http://web.uvic.ca/enweb/undergraduate/redfish.php. All first year Engineering students participate in a design competition to solve community challenges, most recently related to infrastructure to support more cycling in the communities surrounding the university. All students are also given the opportunity to compete to solve real-world community challenges proposed by non-profit organizations or local govenments related to sustainability. The projects range from designing a sustainable playground to creating a cycling master plan to doing a full cost analysis on the use of paper towels versus electric hand dryers in washrooms. Approximately 30 UVic students participated in 2012. Residence Services offers eight living learning communities (LLCs) in single dormitory rooms to enliven your residence experience and enhance your learning. These unique residence communities encourage interaction by bringing together students with common interests or areas of study. Each LLC provides focused programming and events to connect you with other students who share your passions. They include Leadership and Civic Engagement, along with Sustainability. https://www.uvic.ca/residence/future-residents/communities/llc/index.php UVic's annual United Way campaign incorporates many staff-led activities that raise funds for the organization that are used on community children's programs, solving poverty issues and building healthy communities. Staff fundraising initiatives include a used book sale, a craft fair and pledges for team plasma car races. Over $250,000 is raised by staff each year under this program. Each year two UVic staff members are selected to participate in the Leadership Victoria program, a leadership program focused on community service including sustainability and social justice issues (see: http://web.uvic.ca/hr/forms/Leadership%20Victoria/Flyer%20Call%20for%20Applications%202013%20for%20web.pdf). The 2013 report Celebrating UVic in the Community is available at the website link. http://www.uvic.ca/assets2012/docs/pdfs/UVicintheCommunity-a.pdf