Health Volunteers work within their communities to promote important topics such as nutrition, maternal and child health, basic hygiene, and water sanitation. Volunteers also work in HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs to train youth as peer educators, develop appropriate education strategies, provide support to children orphaned by the pandemic, and create programs that provide emotional and financial support to families and communities affected by the disease.

If you choose Health, take three courses from one of the following areas:

• Nursing
• Dietetics
• Health Sciences
• Health Communication
• Health Services Administration
• Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Medical Humanities

And build 50 hours of related field experience through an activity such as (but not limited to):

• Volunteering or work experience in such areas as HIV/AIDS outreach, hospice, family planning counseling, emergency medical technician (EMT) or CPR teaching/certification, maternal health, and hands-on care giving in a hospital, clinic, or lab technician setting
• Participating with the Healthy Community Collaborative’s monthly committee meetings and subcommittee taskforce groups
• Volunteering with the Free Clinic of Harrisonburg
• Volunteering with the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Health Department
• Volunteering with Way to Go, Inc. by helping to coordinate transportation assistance to health care providers and programming for low-income working families
• Volunteering with New Bridges Immigrant Resource Center which helps low-income immigrants establish and maintain economic stability and access to healthcare
• Volunteering with Autumn Valley Guardianship which provides guardianship and conservatorship services to legally incapacitated and indigent adults when no other option exists for the individual
• Volunteering with JMU’s Institute for Innovation and Human Services’ Healthcare for the Homeless Suitcase Clinic which provides transportation services for homeless clients to access medical, dental, and behavioral health sciences
• Counseling or teaching in health subjects
• Working as a resident advisor in a dormitory, as a peer nutritionist, or as a sexually transmitted infections counselor
• Significant experience in mechanical repairs, construction, carpentry, masonry, plumbing, hydrology, or set design.

This is a sample of service opportunities offered in the Harrisonburg community. Please visit Community Service-Learning for additional service opportunities and information about the Alternative Break Program. Paid and unpaid internships also can meet this requirement. Please see the University Career Center for internship opportunities.