Rebranding the CCE: Spring Into Service promotes volunteerism

On Saturday, May 13, the Center for Community Engagement and Social Change (CCE) hosted its first Spring Into Service event. At the event, there was free food and several booths run by members of the CCE and other organizations, including some of the CCE’s off-campus community partners in the Fox Valley.  

According to CCE Director Rachel Flom, the event is part of a larger project to rebrand the CCE for the Lawrence community. She remembers coming to campus and realizing that many students have no idea what the CCE is or how they can engage with it.  

In April, Flom and the CCE kicked off this rebranding project with a voter engagement event titled “Duck Duck Democracy” ahead of the election for State Supreme Court. She said that Spring Into Service is intended to get students in touch with community partners in a way they haven’t been able to before. On Wednesday, May 24, there was a volunteer appreciation event to acknowledge the volunteer work that Lawrence students have put in. In Fall Term, Flom looks forward to hosting the Community and Student Engagement Fair, which was intentionally rebranded from the title of Involvement Fair. 

One of the booths at the Spring Into Service event was the Prevent Suicide Fox Cities booth, where students could make suicide prevention packets and cut up ribbons to prepare for the Suicide Prevention walk on Sunday, May 21. Sophomore Lizeth Mendoza, Public Health and Wellness Service Area Coordinator for the CCE, hopes that her participation in the event will help to raise mental health awareness at Lawrence. There was also a booth ran by Saving Paws Animal Rescue, who brought two dogs. 

Sophomore Eliza Peetz, Civics and Society Program Coordinator for the CCE, ran a booth which promoted First of Many, a program that matches first-generation Lawrence students with local first-generation high school students, where Lawrence students could either write letters of encouragement and congratulations to these first-generation students or to graduating students at Edison Elementary School. This is an ongoing program at Lawrence that Peetz was attracted to as a first-generation college student herself.  

“This event is a great opportunity to show students that there are easy ways to volunteer that are fun and also accessible,” Peetz said.  

Sophomore Emily Pikka, Social Media and Marketing Service Coordinator for the CCE, said that the CCE allows students to have the chance to engage with community organizations, and that Spring Into Service was an opportunity for students to connect with these organizations.  

Peetz said that this event was a good opportunity to get people connected to service and volunteer opportunities, since it’s a big opportunity in high school that students often lose touch with in college. She hopes that events like this can bring students together with the community and help serve people who need it.  

Flom stated that the CCE is hiring for five positions for Fall Term. Additionally, Kevin Gaw has been hired as the Dean of the CCE and the Career Center.