Service Groups
Service comes in many forms at Grove City College and is essential to the identity of the campus community. There are many opportunities to serve one’s neighbor: on campus, in the community, and around the world.
View a list of service organizations HERE
Additionally, many students use their summers and other breaks during the academic year to take part in an Inner City Outreach (ICO) or Red Box Missions Trip. Both are organized college opportunities to serve individually or on a team around the United States or around the world. Inner City Outreaches are team ministries that seek to share Christ’s love through tangible acts of service to a community. Red Box Missions is a unique summer-long program, in which approximately eight students are selected (after an application process) to serve overseas. The program/project often correlates to the students’ area of interest/discipline/career path, and is a great way to see how one’s field can be used for missions and service!
Culture of Service
From the time I toured Grove City College as a prospective student to the years of pursuing my college education at GCC to now, working at the College as an alumni, I am continually struck by and blessed by the unique and permeating culture of service on the campus. In addition to the organized service “opportunities” detailed above, the concept of service at Grove City is more than just things to sign up for. Students actively look for ways to “love thy neighbor” on every level, and many “service projects” occur organically. Here are some other unique outlets of service:
- Residence Halls: Resident Assistants (RAs) often will coordinate hall community-building with community service. In the past, halls have: sought to support/encourage a missionary family throughout the year, volunteered at a soup kitchen, visited and encouraged residents at local nursing homes, created care packages for US Soldiers or Operation Christmas Child, etc. etc. etc.
- Events as Fundraisers: Whose Line is it Anyway, Relay for Life, Walk-A-Thon, Blood Drive are some of the campus-wide events that various Greek groups on campus host in order to raise money or awareness for various causes.
- Campus-Wide Service Days: The Orientation Board (OB) Service Project and the United Way Day of Caring are two larger-scale events that draw many students to pitch in to larger scale efforts. OB hosts a project during the first couple weeks of school for freshmen halls and the United Way Day is in the spring. Many campus organizations sign up as a group to help in cleaning/fixing up different parts of the town of Grove City.
- Service Learning: Grove City College recently obtained a grant for service learning initiatives, as a bridge between education efforts in the classroom and using that education to impact the community.
The above is by no means exhaustive….Grove City College students truly love to serve others and seek to do so in whatever outlets (academic, social, etc.) they have at their disposal!