Student Life NewsBlast

FCC strives to make service an integral part of our students’ education. Service learning prepares students to be lifelong learners, responsible community members, and become engaged and productive citizens. We involve students in organized community service that addresses local needs, while developing their academic skills, sense of civic responsibility and commitment to the community. Students enrolled in service learning courses perform community service as part of their coursework and receive academic credit; they reflect on their experiences through journals, essays, research papers, group discussions or in-class presentations.

Service learning is a requirement in over a dozen courses, as well as an optional component in numerous other disciplines across the curriculum. Click here for more information on service learning.

Children's Festival

On Saturday, April 30, 2022, in conjunction with the national Month of the Young Child, the children and families of Frederick County are invited to experience the 32nd Annual Children's Festival in Baker Park, located at the corner of Bentz and Second Street in Downtown Frederick, Maryland, from 10:00am – 3:00pm.

During the Children's Festival, approximately 65 area child care centers, preschool programs and child-related organizations volunteer their time to offer hands-on activities for the children. 

Register here to volunteer at the event!

Bring a Broom Saturday

Help out with one of Downtown Frederick's largest volunteer events! Bring a Broom Saturday is an annual volunteer clean-up day that brings hundreds of people to sweep sidewalks, pick up trash, mulch tree wells, and plant flowers throughout the downtown area. After a morning of hard work, hungry volunteers enjoy a free lunch courtesy of downtown restaurants and Downtown Frederick Partnership.

The Partnership is looking for 10-15 hospitality volunteers to assist with lunch service. Hospitality volunteers will work from 10:30am until 1pm on Saturday, April 30. Duties include greeting restaurant vendors, setting up food service areas, assisting with food service, and helping to clean up the event space afterward. Interested in helping out? Reach out to Leeann Crews at leeann@downtownfrederick.org for more information.

Volunteer Tax Preparers
United Way of Frederick County is seeking volunteers for their upcoming Free Community Tax Preparation Program. All training is free and the volunteer commitment is simply 4 hours per week for the 11 weeks of tax season. Click here for more information.

Before enlisting as a volunteer, make sure to do the following:

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• Research each organization thoroughly. Start with organizations you have heard of, or where people you know have volunteered. Look for organizations that are called 501c3 charities. This designation will be on the organization's website and means that they are IRS approved tax-exempt public charities.

• Eliminate fraudulent or unstable organizations. Check out the consumer reports of the nonprofit world. They include Charity Navigator, the Better Business Bureau, the Charity Watch and GuideStar. Many volunteers use Indeed.com, Great Nonprofits, or Glassdoor.com to get a feel for employee and volunteer reviews of an organization.

• Understand how your hours and work will be recorded. Record keeping is especially important if you need to track hours for school, work, or court-mandated volunteering. Some organizations monitor volunteer hours with software, while some use email or spreadsheets.

• Know what kind of training or experience is required. Some organizations need high-level experts while other positions are entry-level. Searching for the necessary degree of expertise (and the needed commitment) can help whittle down your selection.

• Discuss needs and expectations. Sometimes remote volunteer communication can be hard. Make sure to discuss hours, which tasks are your responsibility, and how to contact people when you need help. Deadlines and important dates are also important if your volunteer work is not ongoing.

Have questions about volunteering or need help getting connected with an organization? Contact us:

Jeanni Winston-Muir
Executive Director, Center for Student Engagement
301.846.2489

Jennifer Moxley
Coordinator of Student Leadership and Service
301-624-2745