Next week marks the third year Averett University, Danville Community College (DCC) and Piedmont Community College (PCC) will participate in Week to Engage, an opportunity for students, faculty and staff members to volunteer with 25 community partners. Each fall, the Center for Community Engagement & Career Competitiveness (CCECC) at Averett works with DCC and PCC, as well as a host of community partners, to organize service projects throughout the entire week.

The goal of Week to Engage is to connect students, faculty and staff to the community in hopes that they will build a relationship with community partners and become consistent volunteers, ultimately shifting our culture to one where service is the norm. Held Sept. 19-24, more than 1,500 opportunities to volunteer throughout the week will be available. A full schedule can be found on Get Connected (http://engage.averett.edu/), the volunteerism software where participants register and sign up for volunteer projects.

Last year, 580 volunteers contributed 840 volunteer hours. DCC employees have eight hours of volunteer leave they can use, and for Averett and PCC employees, eight hours of service leave can be taken each year as part of the Engaged Employers initiative. Led by Averett, Engaged Employers encourages and allows employees of participating businesses and organizations to dedicate one full day a year to serving our community. Engaged Employers are committed to creating a culture of service across the Dan River Region.

The CCECC supports the region’s Engaged Employers by helping to identify service opportunities that accommodate an individual, a pair, or a whole department. Engaged Employers also have access to Get Connected, where employees can identify community needs and projects that match their interests and availability. Businesses or organizations interested in joining Engaged Employers should contact Alexis Ehrhardt at [email protected] or (434) 791-7212.

The week of events was planned by the Days of Service Working Group of the Engage Coalition, a network of community organizations made up of professionals from the three schools, working towards the advancement of community engagement through volunteerism and service-learning in the Dan River Region.