National Volunteer Week (NVW) kicks off with Cougars That Care Day of Community Service on Saturday, April 22, 2017 and runs through Saturday, April 29, 2017.
For Cougars That Care, volunteering opportunities are available for students through Habitat for Humanity, The Community FoodBank of New Jersey, Atria Senior Living, Union County Parks Adopt-A-Park Program, The Arc of Union County and Jumpstart For a Day at Kellog Park.
Students and alumni interested in becoming involved in these events can pre-register on Cougar Link.
"It's a great way to start the week," said Susan Figueroa, managing assistant director of the Center for Leadership and Service (CLS). "We ask that all students consider Saturday, April 22 a Kean Day of Service and either create a service project for their organization or join the CLS in one of the many scheduled service events throughout the day."
This week of service has been hosted by the CLS since 2013.
The schedule of events for NVW are as follows:
Friday, April 21, 2017: FoodBank
Saturday, April 22, 2017: Cougars That Care
Sunday, April 23, 2017: Physical Therapy Club Senior Citizen Breakfast
Wednesday, April 26, 2017: Raphael's Life House Mother/Baby BBQ
Thursday, April 27, 2017: New Eyes for the Needy
Friday, April 28, 2017: Campus Community Garden
"We are particularly excited about the Raphael's Life House BBQ and the Senior Breakfast because it is the first time we are involved in either event," Figueroa said. "New projects are always exceptionally exciting."
On Tuesday, May 2, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. there will be a Celebration of Service Breakfast where students are recognized for reaching service hour benchmarks.
"Students who have completed at least 50 approved service hours for the past year will be recognized," Figueroa said. "We also recognize a Volunteer of the Year each year."
She shared that some service awards are accompanied by a scholarship. Students who served over 100 approved service hours are eligible candidates for the Presidential Service Award.
"We are pleased to be able to award community service scholarships to students who give back to the community," Figueroa said.
The service office encourages students to inventory their volunteer hours and submit their service hours for all Kean sponsored community service events as soon as possible. By logging their hours to Cougar Link, students may be included at the Celebration of Service Breakfast.
For more information about the events for NVW, visit Cougar Link and search 'National Volunteer Week'.
