Community Service and Volunteering

University Community Service Center (UCSC)
Web: communityservice.uchicago.edu
Address: 5525 South Ellis Avenue, Suite 160
Phone: 3-GIVE (3-4483)

University of Chicago students know—or quickly learn—the satisfactions of community service. The University Community Service Center (UCSC) fosters the development of civic-minded students by providing substantive community service opportunities.

Service comes in a variety of forms; UCSC offers a range of opportunities, including olunteer referral, off-campus Work/Study jobs, student groups, internships, and events that enable you to serve and learn.  

To get a taste of community service in Chicago, incoming students volunteer at "Experience Chicago through Service," a day of service during Orientation Week. During the academic year, students lead many service efforts, including tutoring local youth in reading and math, gardening with seniors, and supporting the work of clinics through project health. If you have an idea for a project, you or your group can turn to UCSC staff for advice and support.

One of the most popular programs, the Summer Links Internship Program, puts students in paid, full-time internships in the nonprofit public sector and in community schools. Work is supplemented with educational and social happenings across the city, and students consistently report that Summer Links opened doors to lifelong pursuits.

The Community Service Leadership Training Corps (CSLTC), a four-year leadership development program, creates a cohort of students who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to public service. The CSLTC program provides intensive leadership training and support, internships, and a community dedicated to service.

Off-campus Federal Work/Study
In addition to putting some money in your pocket, working off-campus can give you valuable experience and useful references. Through the Federal Work/Study program, you can choose positions in the the nonprofit or public sectors. For example, students have done research with the Erikson Institute, helped with outreach for the National Association of Women Lawyers, and tutored Hyde Park youth through Strive. Check out UCSC's Web site for part-time job listings.

Neighborhood Schools Program
Web: nsp.uchicago.edu
Address: 5525 South Ellis Avenue, Room 165
Phone: 4-1935

If you want to help in schools in the communities around campus, you can work as a paid assistant, perhaps tutoring one-on-one, perhaps preparing complete lesson plans. Or you can share your intellectual passion, guiding poetry writing groups, math teams, or drama productions.

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