Spring is upon us, and as we prepare to trade our sweaters and scarves for t-shirts and shorts, Community Buzz is back to shine sunrays on the Georgia Tech community’s service activity throughout the region. We welcome our new readers to join hands with us in celebration of service. Service isn’t what we do at Tech; it’s who we are.   

The Buzz in Civic Engagement

Georgia Tech is committed to being a good neighbor

Alternative Spring Break: Teams to Volunteer 3,200 Service Hours
Spring break kicks off today and the Office of Leadership & Civic Engagement is offering four Alternative Spring Break trips in collaboration with the student organization Alternative Service Breaks:

• Biloxi, Miss., with Community Collaborations International on the issues of Hunger and Homelessness;
• Concord, NC, with Habitat for Humanity;
• Jacksonville Beach, Fla., with Habitat for Humanity; and
• Tom’s River, NJ, with Community Collaborations International to support Hurricane Sandy disaster relief efforts.

Alternative Spring Break trips provide an intensive community service experience for students, connecting with one another and the surrounding communities to learn about critical issues such as affordable housing, hunger, homelessness and disaster relief. Teams consisting of two student trip leaders, two staff advisors and 16 student participants combine for a total of 3,200 hours of service during the week. Other alternative break trips are being hosted by Engineers without Borders; Trailblazers; Foundation for the International Medical Relief of Children; Baptist Campus Ministries; Campus Christian Fellowships; CRU; and the Catholic Center. 

Higher Education Advocacy: Georgia Tech Joins Atlantic Coast Conference Universities in Advocating for Federal Support
On March 4, Michael Kirka, Graduate Student Government President; Eran Model, Undergraduate Student Government President; Alycia Edwards, Georgia Tech student; Bill Schafer, Vice President of Student Affairs; and Fatimot Ladipo, Assistant Director of Federal Relations participated in a series of briefings and events with other universities from the Atlantic Coast Conference in Washington, D.C.  The group sought to demonstrate how Congress can impact higher education, particularly research funding from federal agencies, student loan interest rates, Pell grants and work-study programs. Read more.

Westside Community Alliance
The Westside Community Alliance, an initiative led by the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and the College of Architecture continued to build partnerships with neighborhoods bordering Georgia Tech’s campus this month by bringing nearly 50 middle school girls interested in math and science to campus. Eighth-grade students from Joseph Emerson Brown Middle School in West End, and John F. Kennedy Middle School in Vine City were welcomed by Georgia Tech students for activities which included attending classes in the School of Economics and the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, as well as participating in augmented reality demonstrations in the GVU Center. Others visited a recording studio for Tech faculty member Brian Magerko's EarSketch project. Teens ate lunch in the Presidential Suite of the Bill Moore Student Success Center overlooking the football stadium while the Office of Admissions discussed how to prepare for admission to Georgia Tech. Read more about Westside Communities Alliance.
 
Jumpstart Celebrates Dr. Seuss Day
Jumpstart, a program created to develop reading skills in preschool children, celebrated Dr. Seuss Day Friday, March 1, by partnering with Alpha Phi sorority and Delta Chi fraternity to host nearly 80 children from two neighboring schools. Volunteers guided the children through a variety of activities including face painting, fishing for letters, book readings, puppet making, and word games. The event concluded with a familiar special guest appearance by the Cat in the Hat for a reading of “Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?” Jumpstart brings preschool children and students from Georgia State University and Georgia Tech together in a yearlong mentoring relationship to build skills vital to a child’s success. It’s an excellent opportunity for Georgia Tech students to positively impact the lives of local Atlanta preschool students. For more information about Jumpstart, contact Julius Cave, Jumpstart Site Manager or visit the Jumpstart website.
 
Fifth Ward Boys Association
Georgia Tech students continue to serve as mentors to neighboring Fifth Ward Boys Association, a chapter of the Phoenix Boys Association (PBA). The PBA, an organization started in the Bankhead Courts public housing community in 1990, was created to serve at-risk boys from the community and surrounding communities. The Fifth Ward Boys Association resides at Antioch North Baptist Church on Northside Drive, and has been actively working with Tech students since early 2012.  Student members of Teaching Responsibility to Underserved Students of Tomorrow (TRUST GT) have partnered with the Association to serve as mentors and to expose many of the boys to campus. This partnership, originally fostered by the Office of Government and Community Relations, has grown from an initial 10 mentors working one-on-one with mentees, to more than 25. For more information on TRUST GT, contact Karan Pahawa.
 
Sting Hunger Now
On Friday, March 8, student organization Mobilizing Opportunities for Volunteer Experience (MOVE) partnered with international hunger relief organization, Stop Hunger Now, to organize more than 200 Georgia Tech volunteers to package meals for distribution to developing countries around the world. The goal was to package 100,000 dehydrated, high protein meals for shipment. Based on the energy displayed at the day-long event, the goal was certainly met.  

K-12 and Beyond

Collaborating to positively impact Atlanta's youth

Resource Booklet
Georgia Tech K-12 and Beyond is an annual prospectus of resources available to Georgia’s K-12 community, including camp opportunities, student organizations involved in K-12 outreach, as well as laboratories, demonstrations and campus museums available for tours. Helping to educate Georgia’s youth is of great importance to achieving Georgia Tech’s mission of progress and service. We are committed to leveraging our resources to increase student engagement and performance in Georgia’s schools. Download the booklet now!
 
Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) 
The CEISMC mentoring program will host a series of campus visits for middle and high school students over the next two months. Students from metro Atlanta area schools will tour campus, explore labs and see demonstrations related to STEM fields. The dates of the visits are as follows:

• Lilburn Middle School – March 27
• Coretta Scott King Middle School – April 4
• Radloff Middle School – May 6
• B.E.S.T. Academy Middle School – May 7

Near Peer
Students in Georgia Tech Honor’s Program course Urban Education: A Near Peer Mentoring Immersion are spending most of the spring semester as mentors to 42 high-school students in two single-gender high schools, Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy and B.E.S.T. Academy.  Students examine how race, poverty, gender and other socioeconomic dynamics impact educational opportunities in economically distressed communities. Through direct service and mentoring, Tech students will help prepare these students for college, and lend their personal perspective of what it takes to be successful at Tech. The course will culminate with an event on campus for the 42 mentees. 
 
Field of Dreams
Georgia Tech is a proud partner of Field of Dreams, a non-profit organization providing minority youth education enrichment and exposure to non-traditional sports. The program is designed to foster positive character building through sports such as lacrosse, hockey, soccer, baseball and auto racing. Its academic program provides students interactive, hands-on math and science activities designed to challenge students in a fun environment. Upcoming programs include:

• Conversations with the Innocent (a teen forum talk show) – March 28 and May 23, 6:00 PM at Scheller College of Business
• Wide World of Sports Camp – April 8-12 and June 5-July 30, 9:00 AM at the Campus Recreation Center

Visit www.fieldofdreamsacademy.org for more information. 
 
Rome High School
Seniors in Mary Holcomb's Rome High School calculus class ‘rambled’ through Georgia Tech's campus on Monday, March 4, for a glimpse at academic and campus life. After attending a freshman-level calculus class and visiting the bustling North Avenue Dining Hall for lunch, the students participated in a comprehensive information session and walking tour of campus led by Georgia Tech students. Coordinated in partnership with Georgia Tech's Office of Government and Community Relations, Ms. Holcomb's class trip to Tech has become a bi-annual tradition. Tech continues to draw top-performing students from Rome and the surrounding area, with nearly 50 students enrolled last year. The most popular majors among students hailing from the Rome area include Business Administration, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.
 
Centennial Place Elementary
On March 2, Georgia Tech’s Office of Government and Community Relations hosted the second annual Centennial Place Elementary School 5K to benefit the neighboring elementary school and to raise funds for its foundation. This year’s event drew more than 190 registered participants, more than double the amount from the inaugural year. Georgia Tech has long played an integral role supporting the school since its creation over 13 years ago.  

Get Involved

Leadership and public service in action

Kids@Kollege
Kids@Kollege, a non-profit philanthropy organization at Georgia Tech, will hold its 2013 Kids@Kollege event on April 14, 1:00-5:00 PM. This event is for kids in grades K-5 and takes place on Tech’s campus. Activities include sports, science demonstrations and arts and crafts.  Lunch will be provided for all kids participating and the first 100 will receive a free t-shirt.  Visit gtkidsatkollege.com for more information.
 
Atlanta Community Food Bank
On April 6, 6:00-8:30 PM, join Mobilizing Opportunities for Volunteer Experience (MOVE) for an afternoon tending the garden at the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Garden tools will be available, but additional tools will be needed. Sign up now! MOVE will send confirmation e-mails closer to the date with further details.
 
MedShare
Tech students are organizing an event to benefit the global medical community. The Medical Assistance Committee at MedShare will be packing and sorting medical equipment that will be sent to hospitals in impoverished areas of the world. Contact Silvia Vaca for more information.
 
Youth Enrichment Program
Members of Georgia Tech’s Youth Enrichment Program (YEP) mentor young K-5 students at the Bellwood Boys & Girls Club every Friday afternoon. Created more than five years ago by a student in the Semester In The City course taught by Greg Nobles, YEP has various themes for weekly visits and is currently planning its second annual Bellwood Health Day to distribute healthy snacks, t-shirts and jump ropes to kids at the Club. For more information about the organization, contact Isabelle Recaborde.