Community engagement is one of the many ways you get real-world practice for skills you learn in the classroom. You will have unlimited opportunities to make a difference. Internships. Community service. Research. Endless choices to promote the greater good. The growth you’ll experience from this will set you up for the rest of your life. We care about serving the community because it is a crucial part of being an engaged citizen of the world.
57,000+
hours of student community engagement annually
100+
local nonprofits supported by students annually
At JMU, there’s more to community service than meets the eye.
Take, for example, The Hart School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management’s longtime involvement with nearby Still Meadows Enrichment Center and Camp. This partnership is a classic example of multiple layers of hands-on learning tied up in the community service wrapper—a hallmark of the Madison Experience for so many.
Project coordinator and Hart School professor Theresa Lind says the project, launched in 2016, has seen nearly 700 JMU participants work in various capacities on one day each spring to ready the camp to serve children and adults with developmental and/or physical disabilities.
In an interesting twist, Lind’s 300-level event management class helps with advance planning, getting the word out about it and coordinating the actual event as it takes place.
The Still Meadows project represents the best of JMU. Giving back. Learning happening everywhere. Lives changing for the better.
More Community Service
Dominican Republic
Honors students use their Spring Break to take part in a Central American engagement experience that includes volunteering with a local nonprofit focused on ethics and sustainable housing. The trip also features lectures and a unique opportunity for transformative exposure to the Dominican culture.
Relay for Life of JMU
Our Relay For Life has been leading the way for decades. Perennially a top five program in the U.S., last year’s numbers include about 850 participants and a fundraising total of more than $139,000. Dukes make a difference over and over again.
MSC 0101
100 East Grace Street
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
