Past Projects
Community Service Projects for the 2016 Mason Nation 9/11 Day of Service
PROJECT NAME: Peace Pinwheels
- PARTNERS: Office of International Programs and Services
- CONTACT: Mary Wells
- LOCATION: Merten Hall 1201
- DESCRIPTION: Students will construct and decorate pinwheels to be given out during Peace Week. We are hoping to recruit students with language talents to write “Peace” in many different languages on the pinwheels.
- DURATION: 12pm to 4pm
- VOLUNTEERS: 30 students per hour in one-hour shifts; 120 total volunteer slots available
PROJECT NAME: Gardening at Potomac Heights
- PARTNERS: GOGA (GMU Organic Garden Association)
- CONTACT: Anthony Frank
- LOCATION: Potomac Heights Organic Vegetable Garden (behind Potomac Heights residence hall)
- DESCRIPTION: Come to the student led organic vegetable garden to experience hands-on how to grow food outdoors, make compost and harvest herbs, fruit and vegetables. You get to take home and eat a portion of what you harvest, the rest goes to local food banks.
- DURATION: 9 am to 12 pm in two 1.5hr shifts.
- VOLUNTEERS: 10 per shift, 2 shifts, 20 total volunteers
- If raining, then postponed to the same time the next day
PROJECT NAME: Women Giving Back Clothing Drive
- PARTNERS: Information Technology Services and Human Resources & Payroll
- CONTACT: Whitney Sublett and Janet Walker
- LOCATION: Johnson Center Plaza
- DESCRIPTION: Assisting Women Giving Back’s mission to “support women and children in crisis, and build their confidence and self-esteem, by providing great quality clothing at no cost.” To this end, we will be collecting donations from collection boxes around campus, accepting donations at the JC Plaza site, sorting contributions (by type, size, etc.) and boxing them for delivery to the Women Giving Back Store. There will also be an opportunity to sign up for future volunteer opportunities at their Sterling, VA location.
- DURATION: 10:00am – 1:00pm
- VOLUNTEERS: 3 per one hour shift, 9 total volunteers
PROJECT NAME: Sorting Project with Lutheran Social Services’ Refugee Resettlement Agency
- PARTNERS: Students Engaged in Ending Displacement (SEED)
- CONTACT: Tabatha Donley and Tori Bice
- LOCATION: 7401 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041; off-site storage in Merrifield, VA (everyone meets in Falls Church first)
- DESCRIPTION: Small acts of service can go a long way. Make a difference in the lives of refugees in our community by volunteering for Lutheran Social Services’ Refugee Resettlement Agency. Volunteers will assist in cleaning and organizing storage areas to better improve the access to donations for LSS’s refugee clients and case managers. Volunteers may also have the opportunity to assist in moving-in refugees to their new apartments. In addition, volunteers can learn more about what LSS does and the refugee population throughout the DMV area.
- DURATION: 10:00am-12pm
- VOLUNTEERS: 20 total (10 at Falls Church office; 10 at off-site storage area)
PROJECT NAME: Voter Registration Care Packages
- PARTNERS: Kappa Phi Gamma Sorority Inc.
- CONTACT: Ankita Roy
- LOCATION: JC Meeting room
- DESCRIPTION: Join us as we come together to make voting registration “care packages.” Each care packages will help ensure that the recipients in the local community exercise their civic duty to vote in the upcoming 2016 election.
- DURATION: 11 am- 3pm, 30 mins per shift
- VOLUNTEERS: 10 per shift, 5 shifts, 50 total volunteers
PROJECT NAME: Remembering the Fallen
- PARTNERS: GMU AROTC, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Fairfax County Police and EMS volunteers
- CONTACT: Jorge Munoz and Rebecca Beebe
- LOCATION: Courtyard area between Johnson Center and Robinson A and B
- DESCRIPTION: Create a three-sided panel with pictures and names of service members from the military, public service, and first responders involved with September 11
- DURATION: 24 hours beginning at 11:59pm 10 September until 11:59 11 September. 1 hour per shiftVOLUNTEERS: 72 volunteers; 3 per 1 hour shift
PROJECT NAME: Mason Stream Cleanup
- PARTNERS: Mason Facilities
- CONTACT: Jane Xu
- LOCATION: Lot A, South entrance of Eagle Bank Arena
- DESCRIPTION: Mason host twice a year stream cleanups around campus to promote students, staff and general public involvement and participation. The Land Development Team at Mason seeks to alert people on the impacts of stormwater runoff on water quality and provide guidance on how the community can help in minimizing adverse impacts of urban runoff in waterways.
- DURATION: 10am to noon
- VOLUNTEERS: 2 Teams, 40 total volunteers.
PROJECT NAME: MAPS Medical Supplies Sorting
- PARTNERS: Multicultural Association of Pre-Health Students (MAPS) and the Brother’s Brother Foundation (BBF)
- CONTACT: Veronika Lozano
- LOCATION: HUB VIP 2
- DESCRIPTION: Please join MAPS as we organize medical supplies/equipment for the Brother’s Brother Foundation (BBF). The supplies/equipment will be sorted in order for the BBF to send these out to non-profit organizations that run hospitals and clinics internationally, in countries of greatest need. The BBF’s mission is to improve world health and they are devoted to that mission by distributing medicines, supplies, and equipment worldwide to Ministries of Health, hospitals, mission physicians, etc. Much of the developing world lacks sufficient medicine and medical supplies that are sometimes abundant in the industrialized world! Making an the impact on the world starts here at GMU so we hope you’ll join us on 9/9 to help for this cause.
- DURATION: 12 – 4 PM
- VOLUNTEERS: 10 per shift, 4 shifts, 40 total volunteers
PROJECT NAME: Food Forest at Innovation Hall
- PARTNERS: Office of Sustainability
- CONTACT: Donielle Nolan
- LOCATION: Innovation Food Forest (outside Innovation Hall, behind Johnson Center)
- DESCRIPTION: The Innovation Food Forest is an outdoor garden that was designed using permaculture techniques, which uses permanent plants like fruit trees and shrubs to grow food. Most plants are edible. Come for the tour and stay to get your hands dirty. If raining, then canceled or postponed to the next day.
- DURATION: Must occur between 4:30 pm and 7:30 pm, 1 hour shifts.
- VOLUNTEERS: 8 per shift, 3 shifts, 24 total volunteers
- If raining, then postponed to the same time the next day
PROJECT NAME: Humane Society of Fairfax County
- PARTNERS: Hispanic Student Association
- CONTACT: Marleni Benitez
- LOCATION: Pilot House
- DESCRIPTION: Come join the Hispanic Student Association as we collect t-shirts to make homemade dogs toys for animals waiting for adoption. We need your help to not only create chew toys but also to complete their wish list of things they are in need of such as metal bowls, towels, and stuffed animals. Donations are greatly needed! We need your creativity and support to help bring attention to help these animals as they await a new home.
- DURATION: 10am-1pm, 1 hour shifts
- VOLUNTEERS: 10 per shift, 3 shifts, 30 total volunteers
PROJECT NAME: Hydroponic Greenhouse
- PARTNERS: Office of Sustainability
- CONTACT: Donielle Nolan
- LOCATION: Presidents Park Greenhouse
- DESCRIPTION: The hydroponic greenhouse at Presidents Park allows students and staff to grow leafy greens that are served on campus all year round. Volunteers will learn to maintain hydroponic growing systems, grow food, sow seeds, transplant plants, harvest and pest control. The indoor environment is temperature controlled and wheelchair accessible.
- DURATION: Must occur between 10 am and 4 pm, in 2 hours shifts.
- VOLUNTEERS: 5 per shift, 3 shifts, 15 total volunteers
PROJECT NAME: St Jude Walk Kiosk
- PARTNERS: Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc.
- CONTACT: Julianna Kinsolving and Diana Guillen
- LOCATION: Any Kiosk in the JC
- DESCRIPTION: At a kiosk in the Johnson Center, students can sign up to fundraise or walk/run in the annual St Jude walk in Washington, D.C. on September 24 with the Delta Epsilon team. Additionally, students can make cards or donations to the children of St Jude.
- DURATION: 11am-3pm
- VOLUNTEERS: 3 volunteers per shift; 2 shifts
PROJECT NAME: “Food for Others” Food Drive
- PARTNERS: Anointed Vessels of Unity (AVU)
- CONTACT: Mia Moore and Destiny Parker
- LOCATION: North Plaza; Alternative location: If inclement weather, service project will be located at a JC Kiosk Desk
- DESCRIPTION: Join the ministry of Anointed Vessels of Unity, as we collect food items for families in need around our community. Money will be contributed to the nonprofit organization known as “Food for Others” located here in Northern Virginia. Come on and help us package together meal packages for families and their children. Donations are needed!!!! Donate closed package items and can goods. You can even donate using your meal plan funds!
- DURATION: 12-5 pm, 1 hour per shift
- VOLUNTEERS: 12-5 pm (10 per shift, 5 shifts, 50 total volunteers)
PROJECT NAME: Gratitude Cards and Art Pieces for our Local Service People
- PARTNERS: Child Development Center; Osher Lifelong Learning Institute; Mindful Living LLC
- CONTACT: Jesse Muzzy
- LOCATION: TBD
- DESCRIPTION: The Mindful Living LLC will facilitate art making with the children from the CDC, as well as the seniors from OLLI, in making gratitude cards for our local Firefighters, Police, and EMTs.
- DURATION: 10am-noon (2 shifts)
- VOLUNTEERS:
- 1 group will be working with 4 year olds (meeting at Child Development Center then walking to Hanover Hall)
- 1 group will be working with 2-3 year olds (meet at the Child Development Center)
PROJECT NAME: Design Posters/Fliers for Scholarships Competitions
- PROPOSED PARTNERS: Auxiliary to Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8469
- CONTACT: Bettina Lawton and Patty Bortz
- LOCATION: Room 1508 in SUB 1
- DESCRIPTION: The Auxiliary sponsors a Young American Creative Patriotic Arts scholarship for students in grades 9-12. The Post sponsors the Patriot Pen for grades 6-8 (2016-2017 theme: The America I Believe In) and the Voice of Democracy for grades 9-12 (2016-2017 theme: My Responsibility to America). Volunteers will design posters/fliers that the Auxiliary can reproduce and use in Fairfax schools to advertise the scholarships competitions.
- DURATION: 10 am – 11:30am; 11:30am—1pm
- VOLUNTEERS: 8 per shift for 16 total