Tag Archives: volunteer

Volunteer Opportunity: Clean the Bay Day

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Volunteer with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for Save the Bay Day.

Each year, on the first Saturday of June, thousands of Virginians simultaneously descend on the rivers, streams, and beaches of the Chesapeake Bay watershed to remove harmful litter and debris. Thirty-one years strong, Clean the Bay Day is a true Virginian tradition and an annual opportunity for families, military installations, businesses, clubs, civic or church groups to give back to local waterways.

Saturday, June 1, 2019
9:00 am-Noon

Click here to Register —> https://www.cbf.org/events/clean-the-bay-day/

Volunteer at one of the numerous locations around Virginia. Clean up areas are available in every country that NOVA Campuses are located in.

Visit the link below for a full list of areas.

https://www.cbf.org/events/clean-the-bay-day/clean-the-bay-day-locations.html

Raffle Prizes for Volunteers

There’s more! NOVA Students who volunteer for Clean the Bay Day will be entered into a raffle to win a NOVA Online Tech Swag Bag- includes flash drive, webcam cover, mouse pad, & microfiber cloth key chain!!!!

To Enter the Raffle Follow Instructions Below 

  1. Sign up and volunteer at one of the Clean the Bay Day locations
  2. Share a photo from volunteering with a brief description of your experience. Sharing can be done in one of three ways:
      • sending the information/picture to Onlinestulife@nvcc.edu
      • tagging @NOVAELife on a Twitter post
      • tagging @NOVAElife on a Facebook post
  3. Winners will be announced the following week and prizes will be sent by mail.

For more information contact your Student Life Coordinator at onlinestulife@nvcc.edu.

 

 

Amber’s Recap on Spring Break

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Alternative Spring Break – Roanoke, VA 

Amber Dunn is an online student working towards a degree in Film Studies. She shares her experience spending Spring break with Student Life in order to volunteer and give back to the community!

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Spring Break. A time to catch up with your friends. Maybe you and your besties hop in the car and go on a road trip. Or, your family might decide to soak up some sun rays on the beach. Whatever you do, you are having fun. Making memories with the people you hold close to your heart. Would you ever consider spending Spring Break with people you didn’t know? I’m talking about complete. Strangers. Would you be willing to spend Spring Break working? How would you feel if part of your Spring Break was spent getting dirty?

I was a little hesitant when the words “Alternative Spring Break” popped up on my screen. I thought, ”spend part of my time doing labor!” My best friend, Heather, convinced me. She exclaimed “Come on! It will be fun!” I decided “More time with my best friend, why not.”

The night before I left for the trip I was contemplating attending. At the time I was enrolled in an online course, and had a ton of work due plus an exam. I was worried I was not going to be able to finish the assignments, and adequately study. Then I reflected on the past month. I spent the entire month writing essays, and applying for what felt like 100 universities! I told myself, “you need this break.” The next morning, I was on my way to Roanoke, VA.

I did not except my life to be impacted within the three days. The first day we helped clean Mt. Zion AME church and settled in. The second day we helped Roanoke Rescue Mission. We helped package and give out food to families in need. It was a life changing experience because the quality of the food was superior. I have helped give back to families in need before, and the food these families typically received was non-perishables. The food Roanoke Rescue Mission gave out to their community in need was perishable and non-perishable. Food that had quality. Plus, they also provided dog or cat food. I was blown away by the food the community received. It was food with love.

Later in the day we went to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. While we were there we helped clean the store, rearrange books, and move shelves. The best part was learning about the mission of Habitat for Humanity, and hearing about the lives it has changed through ReStore.

The last day we spent going to church for six hours. You read it correctly. Church, for six hours. Now, now. You are probably thinking, “Church? Six hours?” I know, I know. It was wonderful. The reason we attended Church was to experience a different element. Personally, attending Church spoke to me. Spring Break was at a time, two years ago I applied for nine universities. I was devastated my applications did not turn out the way I envisioned it. I did get accepted into one school, Spelman University, but I couldn’t attend due to a promise I made to myself over eight years ago. I promised myself I would graduate college debt free.

As I sat in Church I reflected upon how I improved since then. I made tremendous progress. I saw how all the rejections came together and led me in a better direction. After Church we went back to the Rescue Mission to help serve food to homeless families. One thing I noticed as I served these families was how polite and thankful they were. It warmed my heart when people looked me in the eyes and said, “Thank you. God Bless.” I could feel the sincerity behind their words.

Once we were done serving Pastor Ziglar took us on a mini-tour of the city. We drove to The Roanoke Star. As we approached the star we witnessed a breath-taking view of the city, and its life.

After we gathered our breaths, we grabbed ice cream and headed back to Mt. Zion. The next morning it was time to depart. By the conclusion of the trip I got to know my trip members better and see a new community. In fact, I was bummed the trip wasn’t an entire week. It felt amazing giving back and meeting new people. If you are ever given the chance between Spring Break or ALTERNATIVE Spring Break, take the latter. You never know how your life might change.

Amber Dunn aed2543@email.vccs.edu

Community Service Spotlight of the Month

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kanga 3In our efforts to encourage and create a more civilly engaged community, each month we will be highlighting community service opportunities available and accessible for any student, no matter your geographic location!

Here is a unique service opportunity that benefits our global community!

Recently, parts of south Australia experienced some pretty harsh brush fires that injured several species of wildlife including koalas and various marsupials. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)  is looking for volunteers to help these animals recover.

After releasing photos of Koalas with burn injuries to their paws, the organization has already received several pairs of cotton mittens made to help in the healing of these koalas. Now, The IFAW is asking for assistance in making pouches for orphaned marsupials such as baby joeys and opossums. This is where you come in! If you are handy with a needle and thread, you can make your very own pouch to send to these animals in need! Find the directions on how to make these pouches and where to mail them to in the below link. Not the most arts and crafty person? No worries, you can still donate to help the cause (details in below link as well.)

Koalas Whose Paws Were Injured In Fires Have Plenty Of Mittens Now — But Kangaroos Need Help