Volunteer Opportunities: Special Events

Make a Difference Day

This is a national day of doing good. On this day, communities all over the country organize service projects that focus on meeting the needs of the community.

Community Involvement Day

The Project Serve day is a new volunteering opportunity for students to get involved in the Oswego community.  During the first week of school, Center for Service Learning and Community Service coordinates this event to help improve the community and bring enjoyment to the lives of others.

Alternative Spring/Winter Break

Each year Oswego students travel to a designated location in the U.S. to aid in building a Habitat for Humanity house as well as other projects. Students travel together during their spring or winter break to share in social and cultural experiences and aid families in need. Students perform short-term projects and learn about issues such as literacy, poverty, racism, hunger, homelessness and the environment. Alternative breaks involve college students in community-based service projects and gives students opportunities to learn about the problems faced by members of communities with whom they otherwise may have had little or no direct contact.

During Spring Break 2010, March 14-20, more than 70 students headed to Alabama, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennslyvania, North Carolina and West Virginia, to participate in SUNY Oswego’s/Habitat for Humanity Alternative Spring Break.  Students came back both invigorated and overwhelmed by the experience and said it was one they would never forget.

Hunger Banquet

Did you know that 842 million people suffer from chronic hunger?!  Habitat for Humanity puts on an annual Hunger Banquet to heighten awareness of global hunger. A Hunger Banquet is a dramatization of the inequality that perpetuates poverty in the world, as guests are assigned roles as they enter the banquet, representing different income levels around the world. What each person receives for dinner depends on the role they play, so while some have more than they can eat, others don’t have enough to eat or any food at all. A Hunger Banquet is an interactive opportunity for people to see and feel firsthand the effects of poverty. It also offers an opportunity for people to take a problem and work together to generate solutions.   To experience this eye-opening event, look for the Hunger Banquet in the Fall semester.

Senior Ball

Our Adopt-a-Grandparent program holds an end-of-the-year Senior Ball each spring semester to provide closure to a great year.  Local nursing home residents, their staff and our volunteers gather at the college for an exciting, well-deserved night of dinner, live music, dancing and fun. The event honors the residents and our volunteers, and celebrates the relationships they have built. 

Sleep Out

Every year, SUNY Oswego’s Habitat for Humanity asks volunteers to something that most people hope they will never have to -- spend a night sleeping in a cardboard box. The annual Sleep Out event raises awareness and collects food for the homeless in the Oswego area. Groups of students draw attention to the plight of poverty-driven homelessness by spending the night in a box of choice in the quad, some even “competing” to build the best cardboard house and to endure the greatest number of hours spent outside at night.  By encouraging involvement, we make a serious statement on the problem of poverty.

Recognition Dinner

At the end of the spring semester, the Center for Service Learning and Community Service coordinates a Recognition Dinner to celebrate the accomplishments of volunteers, faculty, staff and community partners involved in volunteerism or service learning throughout the year.  Those who have shown a superior level of dedication are recognized by our site coordinators.  This formal dinner commemorates the lasting impact those involved have made on both our campus and local community.