<k, maybe it’s not too late! If you managed to pick this up by 11 a.m. then you might have noticed that at the end of the hallway, next door to the place you usually get popcorn on your way into the complex, a group of people are drinking coffee and eating donut shaped treats. Yes, those are indeed donuts and no, that room is not an extension of the Student Activities Office, but nice try! That room whose purpose you were not sure of but knew had a couch that looked incredibly comfy is no other than the Acting in the Community (ACT) Center - the volunteer service hub on campus - and those donuts are for you!
Today marks the ACT Center’s third official “coffee break,” an event that has been happening every other Friday from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. since it’s huge success on February 4th. Inspired by Cheesy Fridays at the Career Center and free popcorn from Student Activities, the goal of these breaks – besides offering you great donuts from the Quarterback Club and coffee from Bittersweet – is to raise awareness of the office and to be a place to promote office sponsored events and volunteer programming.
The ACT coffee breaks are only one of a series of methods aimed at raising awareness and establishing service as an important and integral part of college life. Traditionally, people have learned about ACT events through the ACT Weekly Bulletin published every Monday in the NNB, the One Time Volunteer ListServ, the whiteboard outside the office or from The Carletonian itself. Recently, new attempts have been made at reaching Carleton students through the use of technology. Following the success of Student Activities, the ACT Center has created a Facebook fan page to help effectively advertise its events in a space that most Carleton students check on a frequent basis.
Ultimately, the hopeful end product of these new methods, at least how I see it, is to increase the percentage of Carleton students who treat service as an integral part of college life. Whether you want to help build a sense of community by volunteering at Three Links Center or help produce social change, the ACT Center is here to help you. So stop by and enjoy that coffee and donut to don’t be afraid to chat with us. Don’t worry, we won’t grill you.