Around Thanksgiving, the desire to give back becomes front and center for many people, but Pace’s Center for Community Action and Research (CCAR) is committed to this ideal all year round. If you’re looking forward to giving back this holiday season, CCAR has got you covered.
So what does CCAR do exactly? CCAR works with community organizations in both New York City and Westchester, and often reaches out to local organizations that center issues the Pace community is passionate about.
We connected with assistant director Erin Mysogland and director Heather Novak to outline the many ways students, staff, and faculty on can work with CCAR to give back this year and beyond.
CCAR works every day to set students up with opportunities to fulfill Civic Engagement and Public Values (CE) courses and find volunteer placements. CCAR can also help students who want to go beyond and dive deeper in community engagement through leadership opportunities.
For students, there are student leadership positions including, as Mysogland describes, “various work-study positions related to event planning and social media outreach, our Pace Votes Leadership Program which operates on the NYC Campus, and our Faculty Assistants for Civic Engagement Students (FACES) positions which are students who serve as TAs for faculty teaching CE courses. We can also connect students to opportunities for community engaged research.”
Did you know that full- and part-time staff can get paid time off for volunteering opportunities? The full policy guidelines are detailed on the Human Resources hub but many staff might not be sure where to start.
CCAR can help staff find volunteer opportunities. “Staff are welcome to join CCAR’s monthly group volunteering opportunities,” Novak recommends. “These events, which occur both on and off campus, are hosted in partnership with local non-profits. On the Pleasantville campus many staff also volunteer at the on-campus Mobile Food Pantry.”
CCAR can also help connect staff individually to volunteer opportunities that fit their interests and skill sets. Mysogland recalls, “For instance, this summer we hosted an info session with an organization called iMentor that is looking for staff and faculty volunteers to support their mentoring work with young people in NYC.”
CCAR works in conjunction with faculty to develop CE courses that students must take as part of the core curriculum. CCAR does this through many ways, including:
CCAR also helps connect faculty to national opportunities. “CCAR partners with Project Pericles to offer Periclean Faculty Leadership grants of up to $4,000 to be partnered with a faculty member teaching at another institution to support develop a CE course at Pace,” Novak explains. “CCAR also partners with Multiplying for Good, where we recognize an ongoing commitment to service and civic engagement through the Jefferson Awards.”
Of course, anyone interested in volunteering or community engagement can stop by CCAR and get information, but if you have your own ideas, CCAR wants to hear about it. “In addition to our formal leadership and programming opportunities we also welcome folks coming to our office with their own ideas for initiatives related to civic engagement and social justice,” Mysogland says. “We have worked with staff and faculty to put on educational events, connected departments to local volunteering opportunities, and overseen student and faculty led advocacy campaigns on a variety of issues.”
However you decide to get involved this holiday season, the experts at Pace’s CCAR have the resources and connections to get you started.
For more information, check out the CCAR website or send an email to ccarny@pace.edu or ccarplv@pace.edu.
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