Volunteer Emory
Engaging communities for 40 years

Interested in mentoring kids? Want to help redistribute a surplus of medical supplies? Love working with animals? Want to better the environment? You'll find an opportunity to serve here. Community means that our neighbors' success is our success. Volunteer Emory is committed to lifting up and working with Atlanta-area communities and far beyond by facilitating service opportunities and social justice work for Emory students, faculty, staff, and alumni. It's the perfect place to launch your service efforts on campus. No matter what your interest is, you'll find your opportunity for engagement here. Our programs are student led.

programs

Programs

Volunteer Emory partners with over 20 Emory student organizations and more than 50 community partners to provide members of the Emory community with service opportunities ranging from environmental sustainability, to cultural awareness, to support for victims of domestic violence, to animal welfare, and almost anything in between. Making an impact in your community happens through the following outreach programs:

Occurring three times a year, Volunteer Emory’s Days of Service bring together over 1,500 students, alumni, faculty, and community members to display Emory’s commitment to service. We work with local nonprofit organizations to provide service to needs of the community. Large numbers of volunteers lead to large impact and accomplishing big projects with many moving parts.

 

  • Welcoming Day of Service: Volunteer Emory officially welcomes Oxford Continuees, transfer students, and Emory’s first-year class. After learning about the Emory campus and culture, incoming students have the opportunity to explore Atlanta and ask what it means to be a member of the Emory community in Atlanta.

  • Emory Cares International Day of Service: A long-standing partnership between Emory Alumni Association and Volunteer Emory, Emory Cares involves more than 1,000 alumni across the country, across the state, and across the world who serve with students to further Emory's dedication to service and social justice.
  • Emory’s Day On: More than a day off, this day ON commemorates Dr. King’s legacy and celebrating Atlanta’s history in social justice and especially the Civil Rights movement. Volunteer on this day and both understand and live the history we inherit so that Atlanta and Emory can better respond and lead on current social justice issues. 

Each week during the academic year, Volunteer Emory facilitates between 20-30 weekly service trips that provide opportunities for the Emory community to serve the Greater Atlanta area. All Volunteer Emory weekly service trips are led by trained Volunteer Emory members who have extensive knowledge in social justice and the community agency associated with each trip.  Some of these include youth, education, hunger, homelessness environmental issues, and more. Transportation for participants is provided.

Weekly service trips create deep relationships with community partners and empower students to learn, gain perspective, provide direct impact, and reflect on a future calling to serve others regardless of their field of study.

During fall and spring breaks, Volunteer Emory organizes regional and local service trips that create meaningful student development experiences while Emory students meet needs identified by various agency partners. Learn more about it

Community Connections events act as a space for students to learn of the true range of opportunities available to students, faculty, and alumni through Volunteer Emory and give organizations a space to connect and potentially collaborate. We also serve as the glue between the various departments within Volunteer Emory and the larger student body, as well as provide support with marketing and outreach of all Volunteer Emory events. Get involved with making Volunteer Emory bigger and better every year.

signup

What’s the time commitment?

As much or as little as you’d like! Whether you want to lead a project, join the staff itself, or simply participate in a one-day volunteer effort, Volunteer Emory will match you to a program that fits your desire.

History


Two students saw a need in 1980 and had the passion and determination to meet it. Debby Genzer and Wendy Rosenberg founded Volunteer Emory to serve as the hub of Emory’s undergraduate volunteer efforts. True to its roots as the first ever on-campus branch of United Way, in its current iteration as a program out of the Center for Civic and Community Engagement, Volunteer Emory continues to connect Emory with the needs of the community through days of service, weekly service trips, alternative breaks, social justice dialogues, and community connections.

Staff and Student Leaders

Byron Jones

Director, Student Led Community Engagement


DiJ Press

Director, Social Justice Education