Contact our Outreach Coordinator Elena Galinova (galinova@psu.edu) to find out more about our Community Service Program
College is a perfect time for students to grow as ethical and engaged citizens who contribute meaningfully to their communities and learn to collaborate across cultural differences. To support this growth, we have developed a community service program for all majors and minors in the School of Global Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. Our School has established partnerships with several local organizations (see below) and we encourage you to explore volunteering with them. Through your involvement, you will support important local initiatives and deepen your understanding of some global challenges you learn about in the classroom. And you will undoubtedly make new friends who share your interests and passions.
You can choose to get involved just a couple of times or commit to volunteering a few hours every week. If you choose the latter and discover that community involvement resonates with you, we invite you to work with us to design an internship experience for academic credit. In addition to your volunteer work, the internship would include a research project connected to both your academic interests and your community engagement. To further discuss your plans and ideas, please contact Elena Galinova, Ph.D. (galinova@psu.edu).
Black Moshannon State Park
The mission of ClearWater Conservancy is to conserve and restore our natural resources through land conservation, water resources stewardship, and environmental outreach across central Pennsylvania.
Clearwater offers a rich spectrum of volunteering opportunities year-round! Below are some of the programs and events that welcome volunteers and the typical time of the year when they take place. You can find out more information on their website:
- Native Garden (May-October)
- Streamside Buffer Maintenance (All year)
- Photography/Videography (All year)
- Centred Outdoors Outings (April – November)
- Office Assistance (All year)
- Community Event Tabling (All year)
- Art and Chocolate (February)
- Watershed Cleanup Day (April)
- Golf-Fest (August)
With a growing collection of nearly 11,000 objects, representing a diversity of cultures and spanning centuries of art, the Palmer Museum’s collection is the largest between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and is the most significant academic art museum in the state of Pennsylvania. It is a vital cultural resource to all Penn State students and employees as well as visitors from the whole Central Pennsylvania region. Its rewarding and thought-provoking exhibitions and programs promote visitor participation, belonging and discovery.
Check out their special programs here.
The Palmer offers internships during the fall, spring and summer semesters. You can find more information here.
Palmer Ambassadors and Friends Leadership Council are also great ways to get involved with the museum’s events as a volunteer.
Center for the Performing Arts
The Penn State CPA welcomes student volunteers to greet patrons in the lobby, answer questions, assist with seating needs, distribute performance programs, and collect lost-and-found items at the end of each performance. Events are staffed on a semester basis. Times are flexible, based on your availability and preference.
State College Area School District
The SCASD V.I.P.S. tutoring center provides free tutoring to high school students in several different subjects including world languages. If you are interested in tutoring, please check out the volunteers page. Please note that volunteers are required to do mandatory background checks for working with minors.
An arts-based community engagement hub that promotes grassroots artistic and civic initiatives and supports different local creative projects. They host different exhibits and auctions in their gallery, welcome different performers on their stage, and partner with local culinary artists for their events.
CVIM is Centre County’s only free clinic, offering compassionate, high-quality care to uninsured individuals who live or work in our community. Volunteers come from different backgrounds and offer help with their many skills. Volunteer interpreters are especially important for providing high quality care to our local multi-lingual community members whose native language is not English.
Mid-State Literacy Council is a nonprofit organization created in 1971 to bring literacy in all forms to adults in Centre and Clearfield counties. Their two main programs are the Adult Basic Education (ABE) Program and the English Language Learning (ELL) Program. The ABE program is for adults who speak English as their first language and want to improve their reading, math, GED test preparation, or digital literacy skills. The ELL program is for adult English language learners who currently live in Centre or Clearfield County. You can find out more about how to become a volunteer here.
Our local library organizes numerous events and activities such as children’s programs, poetry and other thematic literature readings, local art exhibits, and so much more! You can also access books and articles in libraries across Pennsylvania, read many newspapers and magazines, and watch free films there. Here is more information about the volunteering opportunities with Schlow. Please note that volunteers are required to do 2 required background checks.