VOLUNTEER WITH US
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BEAVS VOLUNTEER
Join us once or weekly for a group volunteer service project!
Beavs Volunteer is Community Engagement & Leadership’s weekly service project series designed for students to volunteer weekly or as their schedule allows. Getting involved in Beavs Volunteer is a way to create meaningful impact in the surrounding Corvallis community, while getting to know other students. In small teams, you will participate in hands-on service projects that promote community building and reflective engagement at local community organizations that are making a difference.
Help grow food for low income families, provide emergency meals & housing, enhance parks & trails, maintain space for animals (with animal playtime), or work toward affordable housing and housing equity.
Beavs Volunteer projects aim to:
- Meet community-identified needs
- Complete projects that enrich and strengthen the local community
- Foster relationships and build community among OSU students and between OSU and the local community
- Deliver experiential learning that builds community-engaged leadership skills
BEAVS SERVE
Join us for a term-long cohort-based service learning experience!
Dig deeper with a consistent group experience and a shared purpose. Beavs Serve is a cohort-based service program that brings students together for a deeper dive into social issues and leadership development. Each term, participants partner with a local organization focused on a specific theme (previous themes include: housing justice, food insecurity, and environmental justice) and explore related materials on Canvas that connect theory to action.
Throughout the term, your cohort will meet once a week to engage in direct service, reflect on learning materials, and grow leadership skills while having conversations about social responsibility, equity, and how to engage in changing the systems related to our shared purpose and topic.
Beavs Serve is ideal for students who want to:
- Build a consistent relationship with a community partner
- Develop leadership skills rooted in equity and justice
- Learn alongside peers in a small, supportive cohort
- Engage in critical reflection and purposeful service
“No way to improve my experience. It was such a good time, I wanted to stay longer!”
"The experience was great. Everything we needed was provided for us, and I had an amazing time.”
“If it's possible, I would love to be there for longer periods of time.”
In Benton County, Habitat for Humanity works to bring people together to make decent homes achievable for everyone in our community. Founded in 1991, Benton Habitat has built 39 homes and done close to 80 critical home repairs in partnership with the community and low income families. The Benton Habitat ReStore is a discount home improvement store that sells quality new and like-new furniture, appliances, building materials, and more. Their inventory comes from generous donations from individuals, companies, and community organizations. 100% of proceeds from ReStore sales support Habitat for Humanity’s programs in Benton County.
Quotes from participants:
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“The ReStore employees were very helpful and made sure that we were having a fun time!”
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“Everyone is so friendly and dedicated to helping families in our community! It feels amazing to know that we’ve helped make a direct impact on the lives of these families.”
Heartland Humane Shelter & Care is a local non-profit animal welfare organization working to make Benton County a safe and healthy place for every pet, and for the people who love them.
Founded in 1966, their mission is to build a more compassionate community by teaching humane messages to our youth, caring for homeless animals, and strengthening the human-animal bond.
Quotes from participants:
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“I learned that doing small and simple things can have a huge and positive impact on both myself and the world!”
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“I learned that the Humane Society is a nonprofit that isn't open to the public, meaning the animals desperately need outside help whether that be through donations, volunteers, or even socialization of the animals with people so they're better prepared for adoption.”
Corvallis Parks & Recreation’s mission is to preserve and create a community heritage by providing places and programs designed to enhance the quality of life.
The Parks Operations Division of Corvallis Parks and Recreation cares for over 2,000 acres of parks, playgrounds, playing fields, trails, open spaces and beautification areas.
Quotes from participants:
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“Love going to a different park every week. Doing different tasks helps me appreciate how much work goes into maintaining parks.”
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“Really great opportunity to connect with the local community and see new things and meet new people.”
Room at the Inn's mission is to provide a safe and secure emergency home for women during the winter months and to provide year-round case management to help women stabilize their lives.
Their goal is to ensure that guests and volunteers feel welcomed, valued, and respected in an atmosphere of personal responsibility and mutual support and to help guests and other women secure and retain permanent housing.
Their vision is to bring stability and safety to homeless women, recognizing that when the most vulnerable women feel safe, all women are safer.
Quote from participant:
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“While serving dinner, we really connected with the guests, having conversations about the day, guests getting and searching for jobs, and more. By the end we had gotten to talk to a few guests as well as the staff a lot. When things like this happen, you really see the impact of personal connections and the concept of working with rather than doing to or for.”
Starker Arts Garden for Education (SAGE) is a 1-acre production garden located in Bruce Starker Arts Park.
The food grown at SAGE is donated to local food banks and soup kitchens–providing fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables to families in our community who cannot afford them. They have donated over 10 tons of fresh produce over the last two years to those in need!
Their goal is to put more nutritious, fresh, locally grown produce in the hands and mouths of our community’s residents who need it most!
Quotes from participants:
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“It’s been so cool to come each week and watch the garden develop and see all the pieces come together, like the fence and each bed be planted.”
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“It felt so so nice to be outside with my hands in the dirt! And I didn’t worry about school for at least an hour, which felt AMAZING.”
