It is our goal to make service a part of the experience for every UIS community member and by doing so, to develop a commitment to civic and social responsibilities within individual students, faculty and staff as well as UIS as a whole. We provide opportunities to learn and lead by serving in the community.
We consider service and civic engagement to be educational opportunities, and as such we work to create experiences that increase UIS volunteers’ understanding of the context, current events, policies, and social issues associated with their service.
Our Focus
Our focus is on five broad areas of service:
- Public Health
- Sustainability
- Civic Engagement
- Youth and Education
- Hunger and Homelessness
Community Partners
Our office seeks to maintain the following commitments to our community partners:
- To foster reciprocal partnerships with community partners and community members
- To work with community members to identify real needs
- To conduct service with the community; not to do service to the community
- To recognize excellence in service among our community partners
UIS Volunteers
UIS offers the Leadership for Life Service Program, which gives students the opportunity to live together, take a class together, and commit to doing service together.
At UIS, we seek to maintain the following commitments to our UIS Volunteers:
- To provide service that has an impact on both the community and volunteer
- To provide opportunities to reflect on service
- To connect service to social issues, current events, and policies
- To provide opportunities to develop leadership and project management skills
- To recognize excellence among individuals and groups of volunteers
UIS Cares
We know that it is difficult to perform in the classroom if you have unmet needs outside of the classroom. “UIS Cares” is the overarching name for a series of services offered by Student Affairs intended to support the foundational needs of students. Currently, there are three UIS Cares Services:
- UIS Cares Micro-pantry
- UIS Cares Food Pantry
- UIS Cares School Supply Shop