SERVICE
Give back to the community with Valpo’s many service opportunities.
Part of the Valpo culture is a commitment to service, and it shows. More than 55 hours are logged per student each year — totaling more than 247,000 hours of community outreach and service-learning. The student body regularly earns recognition by the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll and Washington Monthly for contribution to the public good.
SERVICE PROJECTS
Students are dedicated to serving local, regional, and global communities through service.
VALPO DAY OF CARING
Each fall, the entire Valpo community comes together on a Saturday to make a difference in the local community. Partnered with United Way of Porter County, Valpo serves organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding the Dunes, Porter County Girl Scouts, and Thrivent Financial food packing campaigns.
INSTITUTE FOR LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE
The Institute is committed to preparing students for lives of leadership and service — lives shaped by a deeper sense of calling and purpose. Students are guided to connect their academic study, service experience, and future goals, equipping them for a lifetime of purposeful engagement in church and society.
HILLTOP NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE
Created in 1996 by Valpo faculty and community leaders, Hilltop Neighborhood House empowers families to succeed through education, supportive services and referrals, and advocacy and collaboration. Each year, 25 or more federal work-study students work as child care assistants.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP FOR HEALTH IN RURAL NICARAGUA
Students in Valpo’s College of Nursing and Health Professions have been doing work to improve healthcare in Central America through a multiyear project currently underway in a rural Nicaraguan village. Throughout the project, students have developed an understanding of culturally appropriate assessments, interventions, and evaluations for diverse populations.
Students serve every day in many more ways than these few projects. With projects during Welcome Week as well as participation in service events and events such as Relay for Life, Dance Marathon, and St. Baldrick’s, service isn’t an obligation for Valpo students. It’s a way of life.
VOLUNTEER AND SERVICE LEARNING RESOURCES
SALT
The Chapel of the Resurrection’s Social Action Leadership Team is involved in local volunteering, Spring Break service trips, and church-based community organizing
VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS
Volunteer Programs provides an array of opportunities for students who wish to volunteer their time in service to the community.
COMMUNITY RESEARCH AND SERVICE CENTER
A program of the political science department, the Center allows students to apply their skills by offering research assistance and other services to government, nonprofit organizations, and, in some instances, business in Northwest Indiana.
WORKING ACROSS VOCATIONS EVERYWHERE THROUGH SERVICE (WAVES)
EWB-WAVES is a service-based organization consisting of university students committed to collaborating with underdeveloped communities to design and implement sustainable projects in order to improve their quality of life. Guided by faculty and professional mentors, students employ engineering, nursing, business, education, and science skills to develop solutions that not only solve immediate problems but that remain viable after the projects have been completed.