Career Services Center

Student Volunteer Services Program

 Student & Agency Benefits

Students are strongly encouraged to consider volunteer opportunities as a way to provide a service to others, complement their academic experience, and contribute to their personal development. Students who consistently participate in volunteer opportunities develop and build upon their personal skills and professional development.

Personal Benefits

According to the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP), more than three quarters (79%) of volunteers said that their volunteer activities helped them with their  interpersonal skills, such as understanding people better, motivating others, and dealing with difficult situations. Just over two thirds (68%) of volunteers said that volunteering helped them to develop better communication skills and 63% reported increased knowledge about issues related to their volunteering.

Educational Benefits

Community Service-Learning (CSL) has been shown to have positive effects on academic performance (including GPA, writing skills, and critical thinking skills), values (e.g., commitment to activism and to promoting racial understanding), self-efficacy, leadership, choice of a service career, and plans to participate in service after graduation.

Professional Benefits

1.       Volunteering offers incredible networking opportunities.

2.       Volunteering helps you   retain and sharpen old skills.

3.       Volunteering is the perfect place to develop new skills.

4.       Volunteering offers opportunities to practice skills in a relatively risk free environment.

5.       Volunteering can help you expand your horizons and explore new career options.

6.       Volunteering gives you visibility.

7.       Volunteering can create leaders. 

8.      Volunteering demonstrates workplace skills/management skills/customer service skills/leadership skills that can be documented in a resume.

Excerpt from: Ten Professional Development Benefits of Volunteering by Merill Associates

Excerpt from: Ten Professional Development Benefits of Volunteering  

 What community agencies gain..

1. The opportunity to expand their mission and reach without substantially increasing costs by engaging a cadre of competent, motivated young people
2. Greater number of citizens who understand the social needs facing our neighbors and take on the role of advocate
3. Increased human resources to enhance our community
4. Improved campus and community relations
5. Ongoing citizen support for the University and our community
6. New energy, ideas, and enthusiasm as well as specialized skills that young people can bring to the organization
    

Community Agencies

Access a comprehensive database of community agencies/organizations and volunteer projects from our local community that are interested in working with the students, staff, faculty and employees at Fayetteville State University. Simply access this database online at Community Agencies.

 

For more information contact:
Marquelle Turner, Coordinator
Volunteer Services Program
Office of Career Services, SBE, Suite 230
Fayetteville State University
(910) 672-1292
tmturner01@uncfsu.edu