Organizations from across campus and the Binghamton area gathered in the Mandela Room to get students engaged with the community.
The Center For Community Engagement (CCE) organized its seventh annual community showcase, featuring 75 student and community groups. The groups set up tables to provide information about volunteering, jobs and internship opportunities.
Those in attendance included SUNY Kids, Citizen Action of New York, the Broome County Department of Social Services, the Broome County Community Emergency Response Team and BU Acres Farm.
According to Melina Martin, an intern for the CCE and a junior double-majoring in biology and English, the CCE’s main goal is to bring students and local organizations together.
“The CCE is the bridge between community and campus,” she said. “We connect people who want to work in the community with communities that need them.”
The center offers other programs like “Bridging the Digital Divide,” which provides computer training for local residents. They also manage the Residential Community Voter Registration Competition, which awards money to the two residential communities with the most registered voters.
Wanda Campbell, a member of political organization Citizen Action of New York, said she actively seeks out college students to work on the organization’s campaigns.
“This is an awesome opportunity to bring students into our organization,” she said. “Despite what people say, students do care about the issues. I love working them. I love the energy that they bring and they’re exciting to work with.”
Some students said they attended the showcase in the hopes of increasing their volunteer work in college, while others wanted to find new opportunities to get involved.
“I did lots of volunteering in high school, and I think this is a good place to get started in college,” said Christine McCune, an undeclared freshman. “I really like how many organizations are available to join here.”
According to Christie Zwahlen, the assistant director of the CCE, the showcase helped a lot of students engage with the local community.
“The showcase was highly successful,” she said. “The feedback received from community organizations discussed the high quality of their interactions with [BU] students.”
Student groups also participated in the showcase, ranging from groups trying to get started on campus and recruit members, to more established groups.
“This is a great place to get the word out about our club,” said Sarah Winston, president of the Equality Project and a senior majoring in marketing. “There are many students here who are excited to go out and make a difference.”