Service
Reaching out and changing lives.
All across William & Mary, students, faculty and staff partner with community organizations and leaders to learn and reach goals together. Through courses, research projects, student organizations, and individual volunteers, impacts ripple out across our campus and community. Whether these mutually-beneficial, community-driven projects are one-time events or regular partnerships, students learn about the social issue they address in service so they have a background of understanding before beginning to serve.
The Office of Community Engagement connects W&M and the community to support students’ development as active and educated citizens and to promote positive, community-driven social change. The office’s vision is that students will prioritize working within and understanding community in a lifelong pursuit of social justice.
They have active partnerships with over 90 local non-profit agencies and schools, and more than a dozen community organizations across the country and around the world. Here are just some examples of what our students are involved in:
- 200 W&M students partner with 8 schools and neighborhoods to serve as tutors, mentors and classroom assistants
- $40,000 in grant funding is provided to students participating in funded local internships and completing community engagement projects during breaks and throughout the year
- a dozen groups of about 12 students each participate in alternative breaks around the world through Branch Out alternative breaks
- hundreds of students participate in large scale service days, partnering with local community groups like Avalon and the Habitat ReStore
- through the Civic Leadership Program students learn and practice the skills of active citizenship through course work, direct service, and funded summer community engagement projects
