The Max A. Shacknai Center for Outreach, Volunteerism, and Education (COVE) is celebrating a quarter century of student-led service at Colgate as it continues to promote positive social change and contribute to the well-being of those on campus and surrounding communities through volunteerism.
“We recognize that we are not, up on our Hill, separate from the world, but rather embedded in it through our work with six local school districts, emergency services, soup kitchens, and senior centers,” said COVE Director Jeremy Wattles ’05. “In a moment where many of us question our social contract and our responsibilities to each other, we aim to foster meaningful contributions of time and talent, where students can learn alongside their peers and fellow Madison County residents.”
The COVE’s founding in 2001 followed a legacy of service by other groups on campus. Wattles said Colgate students Jeff Bates ’71 and Ralph Johns ’71 organized a group called Volunteer Bureau in 1971 to oversee 13 student service programs. There were about 125 volunteers at the end of that spring, and by winter, 225 volunteers were involved in these service activities. In 1987, students changed the name to Volunteer Colgate. Volunteerism at Colgate through the COVE has grown to 783 student volunteers in 2025, with an estimated economic impact of $848,000, building on the service goals initiated by the original Volunteer Colgate board. Contributions from thousands of Colgate students have resulted in more than 635,000 hours of service valued at nearly $18M to Hamilton and its surrounding communities.
Georgette Manos ’25 was introduced to the COVE during a pre-orientation program where she volunteered with community partners — an experience she enjoyed so much that she later stepped up to lead similar trips. As a sophomore, she was hired as a civic engagement intern, a role she continued throughout her time at Colgate, supporting the COVE’s work as a nonpartisan center for voter education and civic engagement.
“I’m someone who really thrives on meeting people from different backgrounds and working with organizations that stand for many different things,” Manos said. “Having had the opportunity to engage at the COVE with tutoring and mentorship organizations, organizations centered on food insecurity and combating homelessness, and education and historical groups, propelled me to Washington College of Law, which is known for its public interest work. Working with nonprofits and community partners meant so much to me that I wanted to be at an institution that would have similar opportunities.”
As a student COVE volunteer, Gabriella Bianchi ’19 co-led the mentoring group Friends First, which paired Colgate students with middle schoolers at Hamilton Central School. She remains in touch with her former mentee, now a first-year college student. Bianchi also served as a program coordination intern, where she led pre-orientation, organized campuswide days of service, and coordinated alternative service breaks.
Today Bianchi is the director of BoardLead at Cause Strategy Partners, a social impact firm focused on nonprofit board governance, where she oversees board matching, placement, and training programs in the U.S., the U.K., and Hong Kong. She also serves as the co-chair of the Fiver Children’s Foundation’s Advocates, a nonprofit summer camp in Poolville, N.Y., founded by Tom Tucker ’67.
“My experiences at the COVE allowed me to build a career in the social good sector focused on building capacity for nonprofits and providing organizations with the tools and resources they need to best live out their missions,” Bianchi said. “The leaders at the COVE while I was a student were incredible mentors, and I’m grateful for their investment in me.”
During Colgate’s Be the Change Weekend on March 6–7, students, alumni, and community members connected through their passion and commitment to common good careers and volunteerism. Panelists returned to campus to share their journeys in law, public service, medicine, education, nonprofit leadership, and social entrepreneurship. Events also included networking opportunities, group conversations, and remarks from the original student founders, Betsy Levine Brown ’01 and Adrienne Forgette (LaGier) ’01.
This spring, COVE will also present its 25 Hours of Service for 25 Years challenge, where participants can receive a commemorative t-shirt as a token of appreciation upon completion. COVE has also planned a carnival on April 17 for the elementary school children involved with its tutoring and mentoring programs, and will partner with the Office of Sustainability on an environmental-themed service day on April 18.
The COVE’s many initiatives also played a significant role in Colgate’s 2026 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, an elective designation awarded by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation, recognizing the University’s continuing commitment to community engagement and partnerships. The application highlighted Colgate’s multidimensional approach of establishing important academic and student life programs to ensure that students develop as engaged citizens at local, regional, and global levels, including the COVE’s work to facilitate both local and global service opportunities.
“Acts of service or community engagement can be many things — at best they manifest the work of repair, or are small moments of creation,” said Wattles. “I hope that the COVE and Colgate University can continue to be a place where we work to build a better world for the next 25 years and beyond.”