What: SVS Volunteer Recruitment Fair
When: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today
Where: Student Center Ballroom
On any given day in room 136 in the Student Center Room, students can find a group of friends goofing around, finishing homework, scarfing down lunch or laughing over weekend plans.
But most importantly, they are giving back to the Muncie community. This is the home of Student Voluntary Services, a Ball State student organization that provides volunteer work to the Muncie community.
From 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today, SVS is hosting the SVS Volunteer Recruitment Fair in the Student Center Ballroom. Nonprofit organizations will have informational booths and SVS will walk students through the process of volunteering.
Whether in need of volunteer hours for a class or organization, or if students want to contribute to the community in their spare time, SVS will connect individuals in one of their 130 volunteer agencies.
SVS caters to a wide variety of interests, including animals, children, arts, healthcare, homelessness and the elderly — all of which students can learn more about at the fair.
James Simmons, a senior social studies education major, has been volunteering with SVS since his freshman year by tutoring students through Motivate Our Minds.
“The kids worship the ground you walk on,” Simmons said.
MOM serves students in first through eighth grade as a supplement to school. Simmons, one of the SVS Program Coordinators, is a student leader in SVS and works with driving students to volunteer sites and helping students process and reflect on their volunteer work.
Volunteering through SVS can save students time and money, because SVS handles the paperwork and pays for the background check most organizations require.
Kathy Smith, associate director of Student Life, said after a semester of volunteering, students leave saying, “I never realized the level of poverty or the level of need in Muncie.”
Smith called this phenomenon “taking the blinders off.” Smith said once students see the needs of the Muncie community, they are unable to put the “blinders” back on, or pretend the need does not exist. Students then begin to see the need in their own communities back home.
Traditionally there has been a gap between the Muncie community and Ball State, Smith said.
“Muncie is not McGalliard and Tillotson,” Smith said.
SVS is trying to change not only how students view the Muncie community, but the way the Muncie community views students.
“[SVS students] are having a profound impact on the community as a whole,” Smith said.
Non-profit agencies run on a small budget, and need volunteers’ creativity, energy and hard work to keep the organization running.
Jes Wade, an SVS Student Government Association representative, said as a freshman she was “scared to go off campus.” SVS changed her views of Muncie and she developed a passion for the community.
Read More
Center for Peace offers academic opportunities
By Meghan Braddy and Grayson Joslin / 1 hours agoOver the years, the center has offered a peace studies minor, conflict resolution training and grant funding.
Indiana's Free Mom Hugs organization and Muncie Outreach discuss how LGBTQ+ groups help strengthen pride in local communities
By Zach Gonzalez / YesterdayA hug can communicate warmth and love without saying a word. For LGBTQ+ individuals rejected by family members, a hug from Free Mom Hugs staff resembles affection they may not receive from those of their own household.
United Way’s 'Cradle to Career' initiative impacts elementary schools across the Muncie Community
By Katherine Hill / April 12, 2024Stepping inside any elementary school classroom during independent reading time, it’s not uncommon to look out amidst a sea of wandering eyes flickering from line to line, discovering what happens when you give a mouse a cookie and how hungry a caterpillar can be.
