Every January, people around the world make New Year’s Resolutions to give back to the community and be more charitable. Finding a place in need can be hard for students living on campus, but Seton Hall has programs that can help students who are looking to help.
The Division of Volunteer Efforts, also known as D.O.V.E., is one of Seton Hall’s most prominent volunteering outlets. Through D.O.V.E, students can participate in weekly programs or commit to semester long volunteer projects. These projects are available on a first-come-first-serve basis, and students can sign up for as many programs as they want. D.O.V.E will send students an email the day before the event as a reminder that they signed up to help.
According to Michelle Peterson, the Director of D.O.V.E, the weekly programs “include serving people of all ages, and of all different populations.”
Students can work in programs such as Adopt a Grandparent and other options that involve working with adults and children with special needs.
Other programs give students the opportunity to work at food pantries and soup kitchens. Students can sign up for these programs at any time this semester. Students can also participate in semester long projects with D.O.V.E that include helping with children infected with HIV/AIDS, teaching Non-English speaking adults, and mentoring homeless children, among others. Students hoping to participate in any of these programs must sign up at the beginning of the semester.
D.O.V.E also gives students the opportunity to sign up for service trips, which are held over spring and winter break. Students can travel to destinations such as Haiti, El Salvador and West Virginia. These trips give students an opportunity to go into impoverished areas and help improve the homes and lives of the people who live there. The information meeting for the next service trip will be at the beginning of the fall 2015 semester.
The D.O.V.E office is located in the Boland Hall basement in room 108 and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m on Monday through Friday.
Another option for students looking to help is the Jersey Animal Coalition, located at 298 Walton Ave. near the train station. Seton Hall students “have been closely involved,” according to its President Ruth Perlmutter. Students looking to help the nokill shelter could visit and spend time with the animals who are looking to find a home. The shelter has been closed due to legal problems. However, Perlmutter said that students looking to help by “brainstorming any ideas regarding the continuation” of the shelter would be more than welcome.
Elena Vitullo can be reached at elena.vitullo@student.shu.edu.
