Current Student Volunteer Opportunities

COVE teams tutored 200 local students, mentored 190 local youth, assisted 150 elderly and low-income adults, answered more than 800 emergency calls, increased 50 students SAT scores an average of 100 points, impacted roughly 800 pets and enriched 60 students education through additional programming.  

Colgate students volunteer with Habitat for Humanity

Alternative Breaks

A variety of alternative breaks are offered during winter and spring. These trips engage students in community service and deepen students’ understanding of pertinent social issues through interaction, collaboration, and experiential learning. The COVE also offers service learning and non-profit immersion trips.
   

More about alternative breaks

Colgate students participate in the afternoon of service by working in the community garden.

Afternoon of Service

Each year, the COVE invites students to join in the national days of service surrounding 9/11 and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Students dedicate an afternoon to volunteering with a local community partner.

Colgate students participate in Fire Department training.

Community Based Teams

The core of activity at the COVE is done by student-run organizations and clubs that work in the community. Groups receive guidance and leadership training from our professional staff.  

More about community-based teams

Team Leader Resources

COVE Leaders Manual
COVE Liability Form
Volunteer of the Week Nomination

From left, Colgate students Nicole Lue '18, A.J. Ward '18, and Christopher Higham '18, enter the National Institute of Health in Washington D.C., Oct. 24, 2016

Grant Writing Course

The COVE, in collaboration with the Upstate Institute; Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations Office; and Office of Career Services, offers a hands-on series of workshops designed to help students and community partners understand the often mysterious process of grant writing. 

Starr Rink filled with donated supplies during Salvage.

Salvage

Through student donations at the end of the academic year, the salvage program donates more than $60,000 worth of items to local non-profit organizations. Those groups receive much-needed supplies to furnish transitional housing; provide warm clothing, bedding, and educational materials; and stock food pantry shelves. 

Levine-Weinberg Endowed Summer Fellowship 

The Levine-Weinberg Endowed Summer Fellowship was established in 2007 by Thomas M. Levine '71, P'01 in honor of Elizabeth Levine-Brown '01 and Adam Weinberg, former Dean of the College, for their vision and collaboration in establishing the COVE in 2001. 

This fellowship provides highly qualified students interested in pursuing a career in community and/or public work with summer internship funding. Fellows receive funding to pursue an internship performing direct volunteer service for the summer. One or more Levine-Weinberg Fellows are selected based on academic and extra-curricular (specifically service) achievement.

Sonali Byrd ’19 with a Colgate Vote Project sign

Colgate Vote Project

The Colgate Vote Project is a campus initiative that strives to increase voter registration and voter turnout among Colgate students by facilitating the voting process and making election information more readily accessible. The organization creates a population of engaged student voters at Colgate by streamlining the registration and voting process. Regardless of party affiliation, current political engagement, or voting eligibility, the project aims to support all students and create an on-campus environment that encourages political awareness and voter participation.