Palm Beach Zoo

  This service Saturday to the Palm Beach Zoo was a huge success for SAVI! The event was co-sponsored with Alpha Psi Lambda Co-Ed Latin Fraternity Inc. and had a full turn out of about 33 students who came out to work with the horticulture department at the zoo. Our task was to clean up an area filled with plants, dirt, and garbage in order for the zoo staff to start growing food for the animals. The aftermath of the clean-up was amazing! The entire area was cleared and ready for planting. Everyone worked together to help out and didn’t mind getting their hands dirty. After, we had lunch and got the chance to walk around the zoo to see the animals. The students loved it since they got to enjoy themselves after a lot of hard work. This is definitely something we will do again.

– Lisandra Jimenez (SAVI Director, Boca Raton Campus)

Hopes, Dreams, and Horses

Over the weekend, 10 students and staff ventured to Hopes, Dreams, and Horses in Jupiter Farms, FL. Upon arrival, we were immediately in awe of the many horses in the pastures; they were so majestic and beautiful. We each had the opportunity to bring a horse into the stables, with names such as Azland, Robin, and Bailey. The many tasks the group completed include: bleaching the stable, painting jumping posts, fixing insulators and wire on the fences, and bathing the horses. I left that afternoon knowing that we made an impact at HDH, shown even on the horses’ smiles 🙂

-Hannah Norcini, SAVI Director

Human Peace Sign!

Last Friday, the Jupiter Campus SAVI Department concluded Kindness Week with the Human Peace Sign event. As students crowded the recreation fields, the excitement of participating in this tradition could be seen in the faces of each person, regardless of them being a freshman or a senior. I believe that this program has such appeal because students feel as if they are a piece of a puzzle, and without them, the peace sign would be incomplete. Moreover, there is a sense of satisfaction in knowing that you made the peace sign possible, and that years later you can go back and find yourself and say “I was there!”. I sincerely hope that this program continues on after I graduate, as it provides a great opportunity to build camaraderie among the students of this campus.

-Hannah Norcini, Jupiter Campus SAVI Director

Chopping Hair for a Good Cause

Loving Humanity with Locks of Hair is a prime example of how great things can be achieved when like minds work together to accomplish a common goal. On Wednesday, February 29, 2012, the collaborative efforts of Students Advocating Volunteer Involvement (SAVI), the Weppner Center for Civic Engagement and Service, New Era for Her Salon, and 15 donors consisting of FAU students, faculty, and staff; allowed for many lives to be affected. 

SAVI and the Weppner Center took on the task of coordinating this event while stylists from New Era volunteered their time and expertise.  All hair donations at the event will be given to Pantene Beautiful Lengths where the locks of hair will be transformed into elegant wigs for women who have lost their own hair to cancer. One of the donors, a professor at Florida Atlantic University, expressed her gratitude as such, “Thank you for a lovely gift. Your effort in organizing this event is a big gift to the community including me.”

At the end of the day, everybody wins: the donors received a professionally styled hair cut, women touched by cancer are promised a brand new head of hair, and everybody involved can be assured that their efforts have made a difference in the community. Hopefully the little contribution that Loving Humanity has made in the fight against cancer will inspire others to evoke change in their own communities.

– Kristy L., SAVI Associate Director

We Painted Houses and Ourselves @ SAVI Service Saturday with Habitat for Humanity

Thank you to all our volunteers who attended the SAVI Service Saturday with Habitat for Humanity of South Palm Beach on Feb 11th.

It was a fun & successful day! We painted two homes and got some paint on ourselves as well 🙂  It was nice to have the families present to see who will benefit from the service we provided.  

What was the most fun or memorable part of the service project for you?

SAVI Service Saturday with Habitat for Humanity

On February 11th, we will participate in a build with Habitat for Humanity of South Palm Beach County to assist with building affordable housing for a family in need. It is an interesting fact to know that a majority of the workforce in Palm Beach County is unable to afford to purchase a home at today’s prices. Habitat for Humanity of South Palm Beach (HfHSPB) helps to make the dream of home ownership possible for families in Palm Beach County. They have a goal to complete 10 homes during the next fiscal year. As SAVI volunteers for this service Saturday, you will be in the number of gracious individuals who help HfHSPB in this effort of making home ownership possible.

Let’s talk:
Have you ever done a Habitat for Humanity build?
If yes, what was your experience like?
If not, what are you hoping to get out of this Saturday’s service project?

Welcome!

Dear volunteers,

Welcome to our brand new blog!  We are hoping this is a forum for you all to share your service-related thoughts, preflection and reflection, and recaps of our service projects.  We are also hoping to use the blog to keep you posted on the goings-on in our office, from Academic Service-Learning to the Community Garden to Alternative Spring Break. 

We welcome your input and thoughts!

Happy volunteering friends 🙂

The WCCES staff