volunteer programs

FSILG&D Challenge

FSILG&D Community Service Challenge

Serve the community as a community.
Team up with your FSILG or dorm to make an impact. Together.

As unique MIT communities, each fraternity, sorority, independent living group and dorm (FSILG&D) is challenged to unite around community service. Every chapter or residential community is encouraged to collectively track their community service efforts between February 15 and April 15, 2012 so that a shared ethic of service can be promoted and celebrated. At the end of this period, teams will report accomplishments to the MIT Public Service Center (PSC). Service achievements will be publically recognized and one team will be awarded the Service Cup.

• Why Participate
• Get Involved
• Recognition
• Timeline
• Registered Teams

Why Participate?

This program provides a structure to channel the unity of your FSILG or dorm in order to inspire and strengthen commitments to community service. Get involved to learn how to initiate service projects, strengthen your relationship with your team, and have additional motivation to share your many talents with the community. Plus, participating groups will benefit from exclusive access to Alternative Spring Break (ASB) funding. Visit the “Alternative Spring Break” page for more information.

Get Involved

Every chapter or residential community can register a team and participate in this effort to promote and celebrate a shared ethic of service. In order to maximize impact, teams are asked to primarily focus efforts around a service theme of their choosing. This theme can be as broad as poverty, community development or health; but it can also be as specific as hunger, substance abuse, or disabilities. Regardless of the selected theme, teams can start fresh with new service partnerships or revive existing service commitments.

While there can be a wide range of involvement levels in this service challenge, at least one member per group is needed to volunteer as a team leader. Team leaders serve as a liaison between the PSC and their FSILG or dorm. This involves registering a team, encouraging the group to serve, tracking team service, and reporting accomplishments to the PSC at the end of the challenge. Please note that it is not necessary for a team leader to single-handedly initiate service projects for his/her group. The PSC can serve as a mentor as you and your team initiate service projects with non-profit organizations. The “Resources” page is a great place to start for guidance.

Recognition

Throughout this challenge, teams are asked to demonstrate what they have learned about their community and the process of engaging with it, as well as the impact their service has had on the community. By April 18, teams must submit a 1-2 page Team Achievement report that describes public service accomplishments both quantitatively and qualitatively. An unbiased panel will judge the submissions according to the following criteria:

• 20% Quantitative results from Feb. 15 through April 15 (hours of service, number of participants, money raised, community members helped, etc.)
• 35% Impact on the community (How did your team help the community? What benefit did the community receive from your service contributions? How did your community service undertakings reflect your team’s chosen issue theme?)
• 35% Demonstration of learning (From this challenge, what has your team learned about the community and about how to initiate and participate in service projects?)
• 10% Year-round service (What other community service contributions has your team made from Summer 2011 onward?)

The team that exhibits the most outstanding commitment to service will be publically celebrated and awarded with the Service Cup to be exhibited in the winning house or dorm. Winning teams receive an award of $2,000 to be used for either a major service project undertaking in the following year or for an alternative spring break team project for 2013. Plus, participants on every team will be invited to a catered celebration in April.

Timeline

Friday, 11/11	Veteran’s Day, community service opportunity (10am-2pm)
Monday, 2/6	Deadline for team registration (5pm, online)
Tuesday, 2/7	Kick-off event for all registered teams (7:30pm-9pm, location TBD)
Wednesday, 2/15	Service Challenge begins
Friday, 2/17	Application deadline for ASB funding
3/24 – 4/1	Alternative Spring Break opportunities
Wednesday, 3/7	Team progress pictures and paragraphs due
Tuesday, 4/3	Team progress pictures and paragraphs due
Thursday, 4/5	ASB participant reflection dinner
Saturday, 4/15	Last day of challenge
Wednesday, 4/18	Team achievement submission due
Wednesday, 5/2	Awards announced at celebration dinner (7:30-9pm, Twenty Chimneys)

Registered Teams:

Team	Team leader	Email (@mit.edu)	Selected issue(s) of community service focus
Alpha Phi Omega	Wennie Wang	apo-svp	Education; literacy
Alpha Chi Omega	Jennifer Li	jennli	Civil rights
Alpha Epsilon Phi	Neta Batscha	nbatscha	Education; health
Alpha Phi	Stephanie Schafer	schafer	Building better lives; women’s heart health
Baker House	Corinne Carland	ccarland
Chi Phi	Arman Ahsaei	armani11	Hunger / homelessness
Kappa Alpha Theta	Katalina Sher	katsher	Child advocacy
Kappa Sigma	Jonathan Rea	jonrea	Community
Nu Delta	Francisco X. Pena	fxpena	Education
Phi Beta Epsilon	Nahum Seifeselassie	nahums	Cancer
Phi Delta Theta	Evan Alexander Moore	emoore24	Community development
Phi Kappa Theta	Arturo Gonzalez	arturog	Community involvement
Phi Sigma Kappa	Kuljot Anand	anandk	Relay for Life; education
Pi Beta Phi	Elizabeth Soukup	easoukup	Children
Sidney-Pacific	Emily Calandrelli	emilycal	Homelessness; education
Sigma Alpha Epsilon	Aaron Thomas	apthomas	Living situations for struggling people
Sigma Kappa	Mary Breton	mbreton	Environmental awareness & protection
Sigma Nu	Brian Carvalho	bcarvalh	Urban beautification; cancer research
Sigma Phi Epsilon	Joshua Santos	jsantos1	Environment
The Number Six Club/Delta Psi	Deema Totah	dtota7	Education
Theta Delta Chi	Louis Lamia	loulamia	Cancer
Theta Xi	Royal Morris	royal	Education

 

Visit the Alternative Spring Break page for more information.

The Resources page is a great place to start for guidance.

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Check out the FAQ and Resources sections for more information.
Questions? Contact servicechallenge@mit.edu or (617) 253-0742