Volunteering in Bloomington is rising

Volunteer efforts in Bloomington grow among college students

By Sean R. Johnson

Published April 25, 2007

Photo by Sean R. Johnson John Thomas, left, volunteers whenever he can. This spring semester he volunteered with Bloomington's City Hall. Thomas takes the opportunity here to shake hands with Dr. Rajih Haddawi who is the chairman of the Volunteers in Medicine Free Clinic Board of Directors, during the opening of the clinic.

John Thomas has only been in college for two years, but his first to years have been full of excitement. He volunteers at so many different places; he does not   know which one is his favorite.  He volunteers with the IU Roteract club, the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, and he currently volunteers at City Hall.

“Volunteering is more than just showing up and doing what you are asked to do,” he says.

Volunteering is a commitment that requires one to give up time in his or her life.  In Bloomington, many volunteer opportunities, including a service-project class are available, but many don’t help out.

 “Volunteering is an activity everyone should participate in because it helps develop a community and gives you lessons you can’t learn in the classroom,” Thomas says.

Amount of Volunteering           

In 2002, Americans were asked by President Bush to give an equivalent of two years of their lives to volunteering and service, according to the 2006 Federal Report on Volunteering in America: State Trends and Rankings.  Americans were to start being active in their communities and become “engaged citizens.” 

According to this report, between September 2004 and September 2005, about 65.4 million Americans engaged in volunteer work. This was an increase of five million people from the same period three years before.               

The state of Indiana is ranked 29th on the state-by-state list for volunteering.  The state has 29.5 percent of its citizens who volunteer.  Indiana also ranks 27th on the list for average volunteer hours in the nation.  The state of Utah has the most with 96 hours. 

Among college students, Indiana ranks 13th with 37.3 percent volunteering. 

In Bloomington, the volunteer efforts are around, but most citizens do not know how to go about volunteering, according to Bet Savich, City of Bloomington Volunteer Network director.

“One should seek volunteer opportunities according to their interests,” Savich says.  “If they need help, they can go to city of Bloomington volunteer page and find places within their interest area that need help.” 

Lisa Simmons, volunteer coordinator for the Monroe County Historical Society, gives her own idea for college students volunteering.

“Students should try to do an internship through their department or do sporadic volunteering where they do the jobs they want to do,” she says.

Hard-working students

Though there is little effort among most students in the area, there still are some who put the time and energy into volunteering.  These individuals help form a strong connection between the campus and the community.

Organizations like Sigma Omega Pi Christian Fraternity, Inc. mentors and tutors young black males at Tri-North Middle School.  These men go as often as they can to make sure the young males stay on the right track in school.

“We help out these males because we want to and because young black males are not expected to succeed,”says DeOndray Pope, president of Sigma Omega Pi Christian Fraternity, Inc.

Photo by Sean R. Johnson During the weekend of March 31 and April 1, students from IU and members of the Bloomington community participated in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. This year, the participants raised over $74,000. Forest Residence Center sponsored a team this year and James Perry is putting the final touches on the camp site for his team.

The dormitories on campus help rebuild the community through Habitat for Humanity Efforts. The Bloomington and IU community also connect on volunteer efforts through IU’s Relay for Life cancer walk. 

Relay for Life is an overnight cancer walk where students and community members walk around a track in honor of those who survived cancer or died of cancer.  The participants spend months before raising money to donate.  This year, Relay for Life raised over $74,000 for cancer research.

“Relay for Life is a great way to stay relaxed and be energetic while volunteering,” says Katie Keith, Forest residence center resident assistant . 

Savich on the other hand stresses that the connection between the campus and community is important because of the financial situation in Bloomington.

“Many people don't realize that there is a high percentage of low-income residents in Bloomington,” she says.  “Many of our services, such as Shalom Community Center, Community Kitchen and Middle Way House, have expanded their services to reach this population because there are so many students willing to help out as volunteers.”

Alternative Volunteering

Another avenue of helping the community is through service learning.  Service learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.

 Joelene Bergonzi, assistant director of the Leadership, Ethics, and Social Action program at IU, says students in the Computer Science Department at IU create or redesign Web sites to help local establishments serve the community.  Students are given different establishments and are asked to choose one and update the it’s Web site to make it easier to access for local residents.  

Another program is the Leadership, Ethics, and Social Action (L.E.S.A.) program at IU which is an academic program that allows students to take a class and do a service-learning project in the community.  The L.E.S.A. program is more of an advocacy program than it is volunteering.  The students go into the community to help out based on their interests.

“L.E.S.A. students might fulfill volunteer roles, but the main focus is advocacy or finding the change needed and figure out how to change it,” Bergonzi says.

Volunteering will continue to change, and volunteers will continue to grow in some areas and decline in others, but no matter what volunteering and helping out others should be fun, according to Simmons.

“Volunteering needs to be fun for all,” she says.  “Volunteering can enhance skills and look good on a resume`.” 

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