Partner with the Student Community Engagement Center
The Student Community Engagement Center (SCEC) is continually seeking partnerships with community organizations in the Portland Metro area. If you are a community organization interested in partnering with the University either to recruit student volunteers and interns or seeking University support for a project or initiative, please read below.
Share Your Volunteer Opportunities with Students through GivePulse
Get the word out about volunteer opportunities and (unpaid) internships! By creating a profile on GivePulse and affiliating with PSU's GivePulse Service Opportunities Portal, you will be able to advertise your upcoming, ongoing, and recurring volunteer opportunities to the PSU campus.
Serve Your City Projects
The Student Community Engagement Center hosts Serve Your City projects as a way to encourage students to get involved with service opportunities in the community one a project-by-project basis, knowing some students are still exploring their interests and/or may not have the time to commit to a longer opportunities. Throughout the term, we set up a handful of one-time service experiences ranging from 2-4 hours, on weekdays, weekends, and evenings, depending on scheduling needs. We are especially looking for projects that are accessible within 30 minutes of PSU by public transit. If you are interested in hosting a service opportunity for our students to engage with in a Serve Your City Day, please contact volunteer@pdx.edu to let us know what kind of projects you have in mind.
Student Leaders for Service
The Student Leaders for Service program matches students with community partner host sites to serve 4-6 hours/week for the full academic year in direct, indirect, and/or advocacy-based volunteer roles. SLS members can serve as liaisons, helping connect organizations to the PSU campus and working to promote further engagement of PSU students with their host sites and in the broader community. Applications to serve as an SLS member host site typically open in February, six months before new academic year begins, and students are connected with community partners between May and August.
The Student Community Engagement Center is no longer seeking community partner sites for the 2023-24 Student Leaders for Service program. If you are interested in learning more and possibly partnering with us for the following academic year 2024-25, please see the Student Leaders for Service program position description to get a better idea of the program and what we expect of students. We will invite community partner host sites to apply for the 24-25 academic year in February 2024. Please contact volunteer@pdx.edu for more information or to express interest in serving as a future host site.
Other Ideas?
Set up a meeting with our Coordinator, Melia Tichenor, to discuss and explore other options for partnerships. Partnership meetings primarily take place during the summer months and/or December & March to allow for conversation and exploration before the start of the next term. Email: tichenor@pdx.edu.
The Student Community Engagement Center is one of various access points for community partners. The PSU schools, departments, and programs below are also committed to partnering and collaborating with the community.