EngageTLH, formerly the Community Outreach Program, allows students to get involved in regular or one-time service in the Tallahassee community, with different projects to choose from almost daily.
EngageTLH service projects are offered at a variety of non-profit agencies at different days and times each week. Participants can sign up online to go on a service trip with EngageTLH as early as one week in advance and up to the day before the project. Space is limited, and the center provides transportation to and from the service site.
Student participants sign up for an EngageTLH trip online at the link below. On the day of the trip, participants should arrive at the center at the scheduled trip time. The trip facilitator will greet participants, take attendance, make introductions, and provide information on the agency, issue area, and details of the service being performed. The facilitator will then transport the group to the service site in a center van. After the group completes its service, the facilitator will engage participants in critical reflection on the experience, either on-site at the agency or in the van on the way back to campus.
EngageTLH fosters meaningful connection between FSU and the Tallahassee community while also making service so easy that there's no reason not to get involved!
Summer 2019 trips
Students can sign up for trips online, with registration for the following week's trips going live each Monday on a first-come, first served basis. Students can also sign up for the waiting list for trips that have reached capacity.
Canceling or no-showing for EngageTLH trips
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the designated trip time or fail to show up at the trip without any notice, we will consider that you have no-showed for your EngageTLH trip. If you no-show or cancel with less than 24 hours’ notice more than two times in a semester, you will be barred from participating in EngageTLH trips for the remainder of that semester.
Become a facilitator
We are seeking dedicated students to serve as volunteer facilitators for weekly service trips for Summer 2019. As an EngageTLH facilitator, you will commit to leading and attending one service trip or project each week for the summer 2019 semester. You will be paired with another facilitator, report to a staff member in the center, and regularly keep in contact with one or more staff at a partner non-profit agency.
Facilitator Responsibilities
- Arrive at least 10 minutes before each trip you are leading
- Take attendance and welcome participants
- Transport the group (usually limited to five participants) in a center van to the service site; while we need most facilitators to be van drivers, we do have room for some who do not drive - please apply even if you can't drive.
- Volunteer along with the group and supervise the other student participants on site
- Lead the group in a reflection discussion after the service work is completed
- Transport participants back to the center
- Timely and accurate submission of all trip documentation
- Maintain an open line of communication with the graduate assistant and staff overseeing the program
- Communicate regularly with agency partner via email, phone, and/or other forms of communication
- Typically, being a facilitator requires a commitment of about three hours per week of volunteering; some trips may require more, some less
Opportunities for Learning and Leadership
- Develop as a leader as you facilitate a service experience
- Serve alongside a community through an agency partnership
- Plan and facilitate pre-trip education surrounding your social issue
- Collaborate with a co-facilitator and team of participants
Schedule and Non-Profit Agencies
We work with a wide variety of non-profit agencies that address a host of social issues. Although our exact roster of agencies changes from year to year, we typically have six or more participating in the EngageTLH program at a time. Issue areas may include aging, poverty and homelessness, children and youth, public gardens and the environment, hunger and food insecurity. Some trips have a pre-determined date and time set by the agency, while others are flexible and open to the availability of our facilitators. If you are selected for an interview, we will discuss scheduling specifics.
Apply
Contact
For more information about EngageTLH, contact coordinator Jenny Williams at jlwilliams3@fsu.edu.
