The Center for Civic Engagement was created to promote and coordinate volunteer opportunities, build partnerships within the community, and prepare students to be engaged citizens. Oglethorpe’s Center for Civic Engagement staff collaborate with faculty and administrators to promote and coordinate opportunities for students which integrate, enhance and apply theories taught in OU classrooms to practical experiences via service-learning courses, internships, community service and volunteer placements in the City of Atlanta. Oglethorpe students, faculty and staff actively volunteer in the community because we have a responsibility to improve and enhance conditions in our community; it affirms the expectation of service held by the Petrel Point system, and helps us encourage sensitivity, compassion and responsiveness to people who lead different lives than our own. Our volunteer experiences direct students to realities and issues outside of the Oglethorpe University gates. Leadership and learning through community service are essential components of Oglethorpe’s mission as expressed by our tagline, “Make a life. Make a living. Make a difference.”
Explore these links to learn more about the Center for Civic Engagement:
So what is Civic Engagement, anyway?
AbOUt Us
Stay Current, Petrels! Civic Engagement Beyond OU...
The CCE’s Top 6 Ways to Get Involved at OU and in Atlanta
Contact Us and Meet our Staff
Honors and Awards
CCE Advisory Board
See the university calendar and check the OU SOURCE student email on Thursdays for upcoming projects and events,
and stop by the Project Board in the CCE to sign up.
We are located on the first floor of the Emerson Student Center, next to the Student Lounge/Bomb Shelter.
Center for Civic Engagement
4484 Peachtree Rd. NE
Atlanta, GA 30319
Alternative Spring Break 2010: Savannah/Tybee Island. OU Students and Staff visit our namesake,
James Edward Oglethorpe,
in Historic Savannah.
Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s Theory of Relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermo-dynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.
So what is Civic Engagement, anyway?
The Oglethorpe University Center for Civic Engagement has adopted the following definition of civic engagement as proposed by Dr. Thomas Ehrlich and colleagues in Civic Responsibility and Higher Education:
Excerpts from Civic Responsibility and Higher Education, edited by Thomas Ehrlich, published by Oryx Press, 2000.
Civic engagement means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes.
- Preface, page vi
A morally and civically responsible individual recognizes himself or herself as a member of a larger social fabric and therefore considers social problems to be at least partly his or her own; such an individual is willing to see the moral and civic dimensions of issues, to make and justify informed moral and civic judgments, and to take action when appropriate.
- Introduction, page xxvi
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AbOUt Us
The Center focuses on four key areas of service: Education, Environment, Health and Wellness, and Homelessness and Hunger. Our educational partners are Charles R. Drew Charter School, PATH Academy, South Atlanta School of Law and Social Justice and Walter L. Parks Middle School.
The Center for Civic Engagement organizes FOUR Days of Service each year: Orientation Day of Service in August, Hands on Atlanta Day in October, MLK Day of Service in January and OU Day of Service in April. The Center also coordinates Alternative Winter and Spring Break trips each year, which offer fun, affordable service trips during University holidays. Ongoing opportunities with the Center include Campus Recycling, Tutoring at PATH Academy, working in the OU-Brookhaven Community Garden, volunteering at the Lynwood Park Afterschool Program, the PALS mentorship program for 8th grade students at Drew Charter School, and numerous other opportunities to collaborate with our community and education partners.
The Center also coordinates Oglethorpe's OUr Atlanta program, familiarizing students with the world-class businesses and organizations that call Atlanta home.
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Stay Current, Petrels! Civic Engagement Beyond OU...
Check back often to learn how you can do your part to assist in local, national, and global emergency relief efforts.
Flooding in Nashville: 42 counties in Tennessee were declared disaster areas in early May following severe storms and resultant flooding. The storms and flooding killed 23 Tennessee residents and caused over $1.5 billion in property damage in the Nashville area alone. If you are able, please make a donation to the American Red Cross or the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to support shelters and clean-up and rebuilding efforts.
Earthquake in Haiti: Months after a massive earthquake devastated Haiti, aid is still needed. While relief operations have had small successes, Haiti is still in need of help. Learn more here. If interested and able, please consider donating to the American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, or CARE, three organizations that have worked tirelessly and successfully to bring relief to Haiti’s people.
Gulf Coast Oil Spill: In April 2010, an oil rig explosion that took the lives of 11 people has led to the largest oil disaster in United States history, economically, environmentally, and politically. Help is needed for environmental clean-up efforts, wildlife protection and rehabilitation, and the protection and restoration of local economies. Learn more about how you can help here. |
The CCE’s Top 6 Ways to Get Involved at OU and in Atlanta:
1. Volunteer with the CCE’s 4 Days of Service: Spend 4 days out of the year giving time, sharing talent and learning about various Atlanta non-profit organizations. Check the University calendar or stop by the Project Board in the CCE for this year’s dates.
2.
Participate in an Alternative Break Trip. Offered every winter and spring break, Alternative Breaks are a fun, affordable opportunity to give back and experience another community during a service-based trip.
3. Help us in the Oglethorpe-Brookhaven Community Garden, located just behind the Emerson Student Center! Work with volunteers from Oglethorpe, local churches and schools, and our Brookhaven neighbors. Volunteers are needed for plantings, workdays, garden clean-up, watering and harvesting. Email Kimber Tate for more info.
4.
“Do Something Good” and sign up to serve at one of over 400 community agencies and schools in metro Atlanta with Hands On Atlanta. Hands On Atlanta offers over 1,000 volunteer projects each month- there’s something for everyone!
5. Tutor 5th-8th grade students in your best subject at PATH Academy or work with K-5 children at the Lynwood Park Recreation Center Afterschool program. Both opportunities are close to campus and best for a weekly volunteer commitment. Email Heather Staniszewski for more info or to sign up to participate.
6.
Apply for an internship for academic credit with a non-profit organization. Contact Career Services to find an internship that matches your skills and interests.
Community Service Honors and Awards
2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll
2008 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll
2007 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll
2006 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll
Oglethorpe is the only college or university in Georgia to be named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll four consecutive years, winning every year since the award’s inception in 2006. Applications are due every September and announced in February of the following academic year. Oglethorpe has won for its distinguished community service and for the extraordinary volunteer efforts by the school and its students to serve Gulf Coast communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Oglethorpe University student volunteers have been recognized in Atlanta INtown Newspaper’s Top 20 Under 20. Alfred Rudzki ’12 and Stephanie Perello ’12 were recognized in 2009 and Jasenka Besic ’10 and Erica Taylor ’11 were recognized in 2008.
On March 15, 2008 Oglethorpe joined The Clinton Global Initiative agreeing to create a college-enrollment culture in Atlanta elementary, middle, and high school students through the establishment of the Model School/College Partnerships with Atlanta Public Schools.
The Men's Basketball Team was named the 2006 John Swain Volunteer of the Year by the Metro Atlanta Boys and Girls Club for providing over 200 hours of service to local children.
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