Last October alumni members of the Vanderbilt Atlanta Chapter were presented a President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizing the group’s nearly 400 hours of service to the Atlanta Community Food Bank during the previous year. Chapter members have been volunteering for the food bank on a monthly basis since 2007.
“We have wonderful turnouts at all our community service events,” says Sarah Watson, BA’05, community service chair for the Atlanta Chapter. “Even food bank events, which are monthly, still draw a crowd. It’s a great way for Atlanta alumni to get together, have fun and socialize, all while helping out the community.”
Other community organizations that have benefited recently from the Atlanta Chapter’s volunteer efforts include the Georgia Special Olympics, Ronald McDonald House Charities, a local shelter that helps homeless families to become self-sufficient, and a rehabilitation hospital for patients with spinal cord and brain injuries.
The Atlanta Chapter is far from alone in its mission of service. From the West Coast to the Big Apple, Vanderbilt chapters increasingly are coming together to make a difference in their local communities.
The Charlotte, N.C.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Phoenix chapters all have devoted time packing food boxes and sorting and labeling canned goods for local food banks. The Chicago Chapter prepared dinner for guests at a community shelter, while the New York Chapter painted classrooms at a Brooklyn school. The San Diego Chapter organized a team for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, and the San Antonio Chapter worked to refurbish a community garden. And these are just a few recent examples.
Service opportunities for Vanderbilt alumni around the world are abundant. To find out how you can be part of your local chapter, go to http://vuconnect.com/chapters.