June 29, 2011
Last year, 18,821 volunteer hours were completed by students who were directly supported by the Center for Community Service at Shawnee State University. This did not count the other on-campus organizations and their volunteer hours.
On one event, MLK Service Day, 70 students volunteered throughout the city of Portsmouth for seven hours.
"When you have that many students volunteering in one event, the hours add up," said Nikki Karabinis, coordinator for the Center for Community Service. "I hope to increase those numbers next year and want to work more with athletics and some of the other organizations."
Most of the volunteer hours were in Scioto County except for the two Alternative Break trips. All of the hours were from October 2010 to May 2011.
"If you multiply those hours by the minimum wage, we have donated more than $139,000 to the community," Karabinis said. "We hosted about 30 programs last year and we wouldn't be able to do it without the M3Cs, the Midwestern Compact fellows, who helped recruit volunteers and plan events. I am really grateful to have them."
Karabinis is planning some new events for the 2011-12 year with a September 11 Day of Service, a Run for Your Life event at Halloween, and two poetry benefits, one for Stepping Stones and one for a local food pantry plus the events already in place. Once a month, she will be hosting an "iServe" event focusing on different organizations and community service projects.
Throughout the school year, student volunteers operate a campus-wide Recycling Initiative picking up 900 to 1,200 gallons of recyclables a week.