| Community service is big at Centre, and it starts during orientation week with the Freshman Service Plunge. What is The Freshman Service Plunge?
 For more than a decade, Centre first-year students have gotten to know each other—and their new community—with a group service project. Previous efforts have included cleaning up Clark’s Run (a local creek), cooking a pancake breakfast at the Boyle County Senior Citizens Center, and building nature trails at a Big Brothers Big Sisters camp. First-year students, along with upperclassmen, faculty, and staff, partner with a local service agency or organization to accomplish a task together.
What Are Volunteer Options at Centre?
Centre’s commitment to the community is far greater than a once-a-year project. Each year, about 89 percent of all Centre students volunteer either on campus or around the Danville community. Centre offers a variety of clubs and organizations dedicated to service.
A partial list includes:
• Alpha Phi Omega, a coed service organization that sponsors such activities as Box Sleep-Out, Random Acts of Kindness, and Adopt-a-Highway.
• Greek organizations at Centre can be found helping in campus events and volunteering in Danville and the surrounding communities.
• Colonel Corps members serve as overnight hosts and tour guides for admission office visitors.
• Habitat for Humanity is a national organization that constructs low-income housing. Centre’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity built a house in conjunction with the vice-presidential debate.
• Repair Affair is a one-day event during which
volunteers perform much needed maintenance for elderly and disabled homeowners. It is funded by local donations and a grant from the Kentucky Housing Corporation. Centre students help with painting, cleaning, mowing, and many other tasks.
• L.I.F.T. (Learning is Fun Together) is an on-campus enrichment program for area fourth- and fifth-grade students centered on an educational theme prepared and directed by Centre students and the education program.
• C.A.R.E. (Centre Action Reaches Everyone) is an umbrella organization for Centre’s volunteer and special programs directed by the Student Life Office. Here are just a few:
Alternative spring break trips
Angel Tree Project distributes Christmas gifts to children in cooperation with the Salvation Army
Assisting with after-school programs at six area elementary schools
Bowl for Kids Sake in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters
Clothing drives that support clothing banks in our local area
Coordinating on-campus blood drives with the Central Kentucky Blood Center
Helping out at the Humane Society
Hunger and Homelessness Week includes a coffee house featuring homeless performers,
as well as the Oxfam Hunger Banquet and Fast
Trick-or-treating on campus for children from local service agencies
Tutoring at the Adult Education and Literacy Center
Volunteering at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center
The Bonner Program
Founded at Centre in 1999, the Bonner Program provides scholarships, financial assistance, work study sites within the community, and educational enrichment for a community of students who have demonstrated a heart for service. Students involved in this program volunteer at least 10 hours each week with a community partner agency. There are also opportunities for service trips, paid summers of service, and national conferences with other Bonner schools. Applications are accepted for the Bonner Program in conjunction with Centre’s regular admission.
 “Volunteering for different parts of the community has given me the opportunity to learn about myself and has taught me values that I'll keep for the rest of my life. Not only do I feel valuable to the person in need, but I also make that person feel valuable by caring enough to help them.”
Deysi Hernandez
Centre Class of 2009
Major: Chemistry
Volunteer at Centro Latino
Bonner Scholar
Why Should I Make Time to Volunteer?
Civic engagement is a foundational value of the College and as a student you will also be a member of the greater Danville/Boyle County community. Centre
students have a responsibility to work to improve their local community and give back to the town that hosts them. Service is a tremendous way to develop lasting relationships and learn that each of us has the potential to make a dramatic difference in the world. Volunteer organizations hone leadership skills and provide
opportunities to interact with people from our
surrounding area. Graduate schools and employers
often look for volunteer participation on their resumes since it is an indication of a balanced experience. At the end of the day, there is no better feeling than knowing you have made a difference—and at Centre, you can!
How Can I Sign Up?
The Bonner Program accepts applications until February 1, and all of Centre’s service organizations are represented at the annual Student Activities Expo held the first week of the fall semester. You can grab some cotton candy and explore all of the options that are available for you to get involved. You can sign up at that time or
gather information and decide what to join later.
Students volunteer at many local agencies, including the Salvation Army, Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center, CompCare’s after-school program, adult literacy programs and various church youth groups. Many other local agencies need volunteer services, too. Centre
students can seek volunteer opportunities with the help of the Student Life Office, Bonner scholars, and C.A.R.E. members.
Visit Centre
The best way to get a feel for the campus is to come
for a visit and spend the night. You can also tour the campus, attend a class, and talk to the professors and students.
Contact the Admission Office to plan your visit.
For further information about volunteer service at Centre,
write, call, or e-mail
Patrick Noltemeyer
Associate Dean, Director of Volunteer Service, Bonner Program Coordinator
(859) 238-8752
patrick.noltemeyer@centre.edu
For general information about Centre,
write, call, or e-mail
Admission Office
600 West Walnut Street
Danville, Kentucky 40422
1-800-423-6236
admission@centre.edu
www.centre.edu
updated
09/22/2008
by rusnak@centre.edu
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