Heading back to school holds a lesson in volunteering for this year's new students at Southern Oregon University.
SOU's incoming student orientation promises to put freshmen and transfer students alike to work in the community this week. Planned for Saturday, the new day of "civic engagement" is just the first step in a move toward a coordinated university volunteer program, said Deb Myers, director of student activities and leadership.
"As a university, this is something that we really expect out of students," Myers said.
The effort also introduces students to communities beyond Ashland, an important component, Myers added. Eighteen different activities will take participants as far from campus as the Southern Oregon Humane Society in Medford.
The event promises to mobilize about 1,000 people. In addition to working with animals, volunteers will do landscaping for nonprofit groups, clear trails on city and federal land, mentor children, construct affordable housing and network with advocates and government officials.
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"My hope is that students...get inspired," she said.
Studies show that 18- to 24-year-olds have a strong civic consciousness and often come from a background of volunteerism in high school, Myers said. SOU is capitalizing on that trend while continuing to offer volunteer opportunities in the structured manner to which people in that age group are accustomed, she added.
Local organizations that already rely on student volunteers sing their praises.
"We find they give us more than just time and effort," said Robert Casserly, media and marketing assistant for the Friends of the Animal Shelter.
Younger members typically bring new ideas and approaches that improve his organization, said Casserly, himself an SOU graduate student. Students have served on the Friends board of directors and usually number about a dozen among the group's 150 volunteers, he said.
SOU has long been the largest source of volunteers for Community Works Victim Services, which provides crisis intervention in cases of sexual assault and domestic violence 24 hours a day, said director Anna D'Amato.
"Without volunteers, we wouldn't be able to respond to all the hospital calls we get," she said.
Community Works requires 40 hours of training for its volunteers, but students will get a taste of fundraising for the organization at a Saturday car wash in the Ashland Shop-N-Kart parking lot.
Participation in the civic service day is essentially the first homework assignment for freshmen, who will be asked to write and speak about the experience for their required University Seminar class, Myers said. More than 1,100 freshman are enrolled for fall term, compared with just over 900 last fall, said SOU public information officer Lynn Green.
Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail slemon@mailtribune.com.
