The GIVE Center serves to engage
individuals in experiences which not
only "prepare a student for a career
but for life as a citizen;" we will
achieve this by inspiring
individuals, One at a Time, to leave
their legacy through volunteerism,
leadership and collaboration. (quote
taken from Frank Newman)
The GIVE Center was started in the fall
of 1997, by Kendall M. Stiles with the
help of a student, Ms. Kate Van
Cantfort. These two ladies recognized
the desire of many Georgia College
students to volunteer in their
community, and it was for this reason
that they created The GIVE Center. When
it began, in the fall of 1997, The GIVE
Center did not actually have a center.
It did not even an office. The GIVE
Center was started out of one single red
basket. In the fall of 2001, out of that
red basket, The GIVE Center had grown
into an actual center with several
offices and over 15 student coordinated
programs. This move proved to be a vital
point in the center's history, and during
the next four years the center would
grow to over 50 student-coordinated
programs.
Kendall, as the director,
solely operated the center until its
ninth year when Paul F. Sedor II was
hired as the center's first Assistant
Director in the fall of 2005. Paul, a
2005 Georgia College graduate, assisted
The GIVE Center in utilizing new forms
of technology which helped the center to
better serve their students and
agencies. In addition to this, the
center developed a stronger
collaboration with the Community Action
Team for Service (CATS) which has
created additional volunteer
opportunities for our campus. Through
this collaboration, our students were
able to benefit from shared resources
and bridge the gap between Student
Affairs and Academic Affairs.
The
addition of Paul and the collaboration
with CATS has helped take The GIVE
Center to the next level, enabling
Georgia College to offer over 90 student
coordinated programs and serving over
3,000 student volunteers. Through
more personal contact with individual
volunteers and organizations, The GIVE
Center was able to track over 25,000
certified volunteer hours during the
2005-2006 academic year.
The GIVE Center serves as the volunteerism clearinghouse empowering students to make a difference
by linking them to the needs of our community. It is through this center in which Georgia College students
,faculty and staff become involved in campuswide,local community, national and international volunteer efforts.
We offer volunteer opportunities in the areas of Animals, Children, Disabilities, Disaster Relief, Education, Elderly,
Environmental, Female Issues, Fine Arts, General Service, Health, Literacy, Male Issues, Outdoors, Patriotic & Political
, Poverty, Recreational, Recycling, Religious, and Technology & PR. We challenge our campus to put their paws on a
cause.
Participants who attend one of our Project Impact showings of "Pay It
Forward" receive one of our Pay It Forward Project tracking cards. After
they do a big favor for someone they simply give them their card and ask
them to pay it forward. Every time the card is passed on to a new person
they log onto our Web site and tell how they received the card. Our
online tracking database keeps a record of each entry and visitors can
search for cards to see how people are paying it forward.
kendall.stiles@gcsu.edu
Paul F. Sedor II
Assistant Director
paul.sedor@gcsu.edu
Georgia College & State University
Campus Box 100
Milledgeville, GA 31061
Phone
(478) 445-4027
Click here for additional Give Center information.
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