The Dornsife Center for Community Engagement is well-known for organizing the 117-year-old tradition of Community Building Day. However, they host even more opportunities for students to volunteer in the Spokane community.
The Dornsife Center for Community Engagement helps bring together the Whitworth and Spokane communities to enrich educational programs and help students follow the Whitworth mission of upholding their faith and serving humanity.
The Dornsife Center follows through on its mission with its Community Engagement Advocates (CEAs). CEAs are leadership positions that students can apply for.
“I wanted to find something that allowed me to get to know campus more and get to know not only the people of Whitworth better but also the surrounding community,” said Valerie Hanes, a sophomore CEA.
According to Hanes, they do this by putting on service events with different partner organizations to do whatever is needed. The Dornsife Center tries to put on seven to ten events per semester and takes five to 10 students to each event.
There is a wide range of events that students, staff, or faculty can volunteer for because each CEA has a different aspect of the community they advocate for. Zach Reyes, a sophomore CEA, enjoys volunteering to help animals, but other CEAs focus on helping the people of the community or the environment. They each have the same goal of doing work to benefit their community.
“We each go our different pathways, but we all help each other out in each event as much as we can,” said Reyes.
An example of an event hosted by Dornsife was last Jan Term. CEAs and volunteers went downtown to volunteer with a Spokane Homeless Connect event. Students helped hand out winter clothes and necessities for the homeless, and they also had the opportunity to talk to them and engage with their community, according to Hanes.
“How Spokane supported the homeless community was mainly how I was really drawn to this drive for community service,” said Ny Ary Razafindramamba, a junior CEA.
Not only does volunteering help build community, but it can also help students with their studies. Students in majors that require community service can participate in Dornsife events to earn their volunteer hours without having to directly reach out to community partners.
Volunteering also helps students connect to their faith. “[Community service] draws us back to how Jesus wants Christians to love [and] to practice fellowship with their neighbors,” said Razafindramamba.
Volunteer opportunities hosted by Dornsife are advertised through their Instagram, posters around campus, and on TV screens in Weyerhaeuser Hall one to two weeks before the event occurs. Students can sign up to volunteer through Whitworth Serves or through the link tree on the Dornsife Instagram, @whitworthserves.
Students can also get involved with Dornsife and have more direct action by becoming a CEA. The application is released on Handshake in February.
“Students need a community,” said Razafindramamba. “The community also needs them.”
