Students who want to make a difference do not need to look very far, as the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement (OSLCE) provides daily trips around the community for students to volunteer and gain leadership experience.

The OSLCE has been offering volunteering trips for Georgia Southern University students for 10 years.

When the program first started, these trips were given four times per week at different places around the community. After student’s input and feedback, volunteer trips were offered daily totaling in 12 trips per week.

Trips like these are a great opportunity to set out in the community, Todd Deal, director of the OSLCE, said.

The most popular volunteer options students take part in are the Habitat for Humanity and the Statesboro Food Bank trips.

There are also other places to volunteer like the Westwood Nursing Home, Boys and Girls Club of Bulloch County and the after-school program at Sallie Zetterower Elementary School.

Some trips require a student submitting a background check before volunteering and these are available at no cost to the student.

Transportation to and from the location is provided for students.

Students who log 200 or more volunteer hours will get a Service Transcript at graduation that will list all the places and hours that they volunteered at.

Leadership positions are offered as well. Trip Leaders are in charge of handling individual trips to one of the locations offered.

Community Liaison is a paid position in which the student is in charge of finding places for volunteering and the type of volunteering offered there.

With the multiple areas of Statesboro reached, GSU students and partners provide help for many organizations that benefit everyone in the city.

Deal said, “Our goal is building bridges between Georgia Southern and the community.”