community service

​​First-year students will volunteer at 10 local schools on Saturday, Aug. 30, before attending the all-class Service Fair, showcasing 50 community service organizations. Stephanie Kurtzman, director of the university’s Community Service Office, calls service a win-win-win.

Veteran Ian Smith barely graduated from high school. Today, he is earning his degree in global leadership and management in University College in Arts & Sciences and is leading a team of engineers to develop low-cost prosthetics using 3D printers.

Some 1,100 Washington University freshmen will paint murals, pull weeds and organize classrooms Saturday, Aug. 31, at 13 local schools for Service First, one of the university’s largest community service projects.

The third annual PB&Joy food drive at Washington University in St. Louis yielded 8,372 pounds of food, compared to 4,686 pounds last year. The campaign also raised more than $3,800 in monetary contributions. This year’s total impact is enough to feed 3,042 people for a day.

Nearly one in four people living in the City of St. Louis lives in poverty and faces hunger, and local food pantries across the region have experienced a 30 percent increase in requests over the last year. For the third year, Washington University is partnering with Operation Food Search to coordinate the PB&Joy University-Wide Food Drive, which runs April 4-16.

Student athlete Tim Cooney grew up in St. Louis and rarely had a place where his friends could gather and play a pickup game of basketball. Cooney, a junior guard on the WUSTL men’s basketball team, is trying to change that for future generations.

With more St. Louis public school pupils than ever requesting tutors, WUSTL’s Each One Teach One program is expanding to serve more of them. The Community Service Office is looking for 50 enthusiastic tutors to build relationships, strengthen literacy skills, and foster a love of learning.

Nominations now are being accepted for the annual Gerry & Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award, which honors members of the WUSTL community who exemplify a character of service and giving to the St. Louis region.

A showcase featuring three student projects selected by the Community Service Office to receive Social Change grants last summer will be held from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5, in Danforth University Center, Room 234.

Before classes began at the Brown School, students, faculty and staff went out into the St. Louis area Aug. 25 for the annual Brown School Community Service Day. A video captures the program at Gateway Greening, one of 21 area agencies for which students, faculty and staff provided service. “It’s nice to start off the year ‘walking the walk,’” says Melissa Jonson-Reid, PhD, professor at the Brown School.