Category Archives: Community Engagement

Community engagement activities from HSA, LOI, and more

You’re Invited to Attend or Volunteer at the Motivate HER Entrepreneurship Conference!

by Reese Michaelson

You’re invited to attend or volunteer at the Increasing Hope’s Women’s Business Center Motivate HER conference, an exciting event designed to inspire and empower entrepreneurs in the Lowcountry. The action-packed day will include inspiring speakers, informative workshops, and great networking opportunities!

Details: The Motivate HER conference will be held on Saturday, September 28th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Lowcountry Conference Center. Sessions will include:

  • The Mindset of Successful Entrepreneurs
  • Small Business Accounting: Mastering Your Financials
  • Dreams to Reality: Launching Your Own Business
  • and many more! See the full event schedule here

To Attend: Register for the event here!

To Volunteer: Sign up with this link by Wednesday, September 18th. As a bonus, you’ll get to attend the conference for free! For questions about this opportunity, contact ihopewbc@increasinghope.org.

Go here for more information about the event and the Increasing Hope’s Women’s Business Center.

The Lonon Foundation is Looking for Student Volunteers!

by Reese Michaelson

The Lonon Foundation is a local nonprofit that helps children affected by a caregiver’s cancer diagnosis. They put on FREE monthly UPLIFT events that are either virtual or in-person to bring families together and help children cope. Volunteers assist in the set-up/breakdown of the events, prepare care packages for families, engage with children, and spread awareness.

Benefits:

  • Meaningful service hours
  • The Lonon Foundation is an Honors Engaged community partner
  • Potential for a future internship
  • Get event planning, child work, and communication experience

Great Fit For: Honors students studying psychology, education, public health, communications, or that are pre-med.

Scheduling Details: Volunteers are able to sign up for events that work best for their schedule. There is at least one UPLIFT event each month and volunteer work days scheduled throughout the semester.

To Apply: Apply on Bloomerang Volunteer with this link. After applying, volunteers will complete Darkness to Light Child Abuse training at their own pace before they can work alongside children.

Learn more about the Lonon Foundation by clicking here. For more information, contact Honors student Georgia Kern (intern@thelononfoudnation.org) or Katie Lowe (uplift@thelononfoundation.org).

Become a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador

by plasmatinc

Did you know that Microsoft offers courses and micro-credentials on AI and Azure cloud?

The opportunity: Join a global community of students who are passionate about building AI-driven solutions with Microsoft technology while growing the skills you need to have greater impact in the projects and communities that matter to you.

The Benefits:

  • Grow technical AI skills
  • Boost leadership experience
  • Expand your network
  • Become a leader in the College’s suite of Microsoft products

Learn More: Take advantage of time between semesters and join this community of AI-passionate innovators and student leaders. Become a Microsoft Learn student ambassador.

Intern With the Charleston Climate Coalition

by Reese Michaelson

The Charleston Climate Coalition (CCC) is looking for a part-time student intern to work with their team on finalizing and piloting implementation of their new Environmental Justice Profile!

The Internship: This position will involve working with the CCC team to help create the digital platform on Squarespace, help with gathering contact information for agencies relevant to the dimensions of the profile, and potentially attend meetings with environmental justice experts to set up piloting projects. This internship can be completed in person in Charleston or virtually if you plan to leave the Lowcountry this summer.

More Info: The Environmental Justice Profile is a digital platform for assessing and raising awareness about community exposure and vulnerability to a wide range of dimensions of environmental and social justice harms.

Great Fit For: Self-motivated and eager students who can effectively manage time and carry out responsibilities independently. This position should especially interest students who want real-life experience fighting to protect frontline communities and bring about sustainable community-based solutions.

To Apply: Email your resume to charlestonclimatecoalition@gmail.com with the subject line EJ Profile Internship Application.

To learn more about the Charleston Climate Coalition, click this link to head to their website.

Mindful-Move Out Volunteer Call!

by Reese Michaelson

The Opportunity: Volunteer for Mindful Move-Out from April 28th-May 2nd! The Center for Sustainable Development and their partners need all hands on deck to collect and sort the donations they receive from residence halls during Move-Out. It’s a great way to help our campus and community reduce waste (and get first dibs on free clothes, furniture, and more)!

Benefits: Working can be counted for volunteer hours. By volunteering, participants increase their campus and community involvement and volunteers help work towards the 90% Waste Diversion metric.

Relevance: This is a great opportunity for students wanting to get involved on campus, anyone needing volunteer hours, and anyone wanting to look through some free items!

To Sign Up: Go to this link to sign up for volunteering timeslots.

For more information, reach out to zerowaste@cofc.edu or sustain@cofc.edu with any questions!

Join the Green Heart Project Volunteer Team at the Cooper River Bridge Run

by Reese Michaelson

The Green Heart Project is looking for volunteers to join their team and help out at this year’s Bridge Run Race Expo, on Thursday, April 4th & Friday, April 5th at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Responsibilities: Race volunteers will:

  • Help with t-shirt distribution & runner packet distribution
  • Greet participants and provide race day information
  • Help Green Heart to fulfill their duties as a Bridge Run Charity Connection, a partnership that should raise ~$10,000 to support their work!

To Register: To volunteer, go to this link, register to volunteer for Expo Support, and add yourself to the Green Heart Project team. Food and a free volunteer t-shirt will be provided.

For more information, go to the volunteer registration link or contact Allie Astor at allie@greenheartsc.org.

Join the CofC Generative AI Team!

by Reese Michaelson

Curious about generative artificial intelligence? Check out this opportunity to participate in a Hackathon, take a class on Storytelling with AI, and compete in the IBM 2024 Call for Code Global Challenge for a chance to win $50,000!

The Opportunity: Honors Faculty Fellow Lancie Affonso is hoping to recruit a team of 3-5 CofC students to compete in the April 19th-21st CHS Hack Ops and get feedback on their solution before entering the  IBM 2024 Call for Code Global Challenge. Professor Affonso will also be teaching an exclusive colloquium course in fall 2024 on Storytelling in the Ae of AI.

Timeline:

  • March 29th: Team formed (3-5 students)
  • April 19th-21st: Team participates in CHS HackOps at the Harbor Entrepreneurship Center
  • October 17th: IBM Challenge submissions due
  • December 2024: IBM Challenge winners announced

Students who are interested in joining our CofC Storytelling with AI team for this competition or learning about IBM Skills Build and Red Hat Academy can contact Professor Affonso at affonsol@cofc.edu.

Reading Partners has an AmeriCorps service opportunity

by plasmatinc

Reading Partners SC, a national nonprofit that provides students with reading support, has a year-long AmeriCorps service opportunity in Charleston.

The opportunity: Collaborate with a network of partners to recruit and coach volunteers, support students during and outside of tutoring sessions, work on capacity-building projects, and so much more.

The benefits:

  • Serve your community as part of a dynamic team.
  • Grow your leadership skills.
  • Supported by a living stipend, benefits, education award, and training opportunities.

How to apply: The application can be found on Reading Partners’ website.