Center for Civic Engagement

Learn, serve and lead with passion.

We connect you with opportunities to learn, serve and lead with passion. Our partnerships with community and campus organizations help you broaden your perspectives, build relationships, and develop skills to help you succeed in and out of the classroom - all while giving back. Be a part of the next generation of thought leaders committed to a just and equitable world. 

Volunteer with Us!

Our Alternative Break programs help you grow as civic leaders and changemakers, and develop skills you need for success.
Volunteers planting
Bonner Leaders graduate with a commitment to social justice, job-ready skills and friendships that can last a lifetime.
Bonner Leaders are pictured at 2023 graduation ceremonies.
Our service and volunteer opportunities help students stretch their perspectives on community and social justice issues.
Student volunteers work the saw at a Habitat for Humanity build day.
At our pop-up service events, students can stop by for as long as they'd like to help out local non-profits.
Students create STEM kits for preschooler at a recent CCE service pop-up.
We bring volunteer work to campus through pop-up events. Here, students are making scarves for the unhoused.
Two students cut and measure fleece for scarves.
 
 

Build your leadership, communication and problem-solving skills when you volunteer with the Center for Civic Engagement. Meet new people, make lifelong friends and find your sense of purpose.

Our Programs

Serve the community. Expand your perspectives. Look at old problems in new ways. This is what we help you do at the Center for Civic Engagement.
  • Bonner Leader Program

    Bonner Service Saturday

    Bonner Leaders are part of a diverse community of passionate students ready to engage in the world through service. They combine education, service and reflection to become changemakers.

    What is it? 

    A selective, four-year civic leadership development program. 

    How does it work?

    Students receive annual scholarship awards in exchange for a weekly 10-hour commitment to meaningful service with a local community organization during the academic year.

    Ready to apply? 

    Bonner Leader Program applications for incoming 2024-2025 freshmen are now closed. Applications for the 2025-2026 academic year are expected to open in the spring. Some slots may be available for rising sophomores or juniors. Interested in becoming a Bonner Leader? Email us at bonner@cofc.edu for more information. Current students can visit our HUB site for program updates, too.

    More about Bonner Leaders
  • Pop-Up Service

    Every month, we partner with a local community organization to help them complete a ‘mini project’ on campus. Join us for a few minutes or a few hours to help these non-profits thrive, whether we’re building STEM kits for area preschoolers, assembling snack bags for families at the nearby Ronald McDonald House or making scarves for the unhoused to help them cut out the cold. Another way to learn, serve and lead with passion. 

    Current students can visit our HUB site or Cougar Connect for more information on our upcoming Pop-Up Service events. 

  • Habitat for Humanity Build Days

    Looking for a hands-on way to build connections with the community, learn new skills and meet new people across campus? You're sure to find it all when you join us at any of our monthly Habitat for Humanity build days. We provide a free lunch and transportation to and from the work site. You just provide an extra set of hands to help a local family build hope and a home. Never picked up a hammer or prepped walls or floors for finishing? No problem. Our Habitat team is ready to guide you. 

    Follow us on Instagram for our 2024-2025 dates. Registration information for each build is also published on Cougar Connect and on digital signage across campus. Current students can also check out our HUB site for more information.

    Read more about our Habitat for Humanity partnership in The College Today.

  • Alternative Break (AB)

    Our Alternative Break program helps you grow as a civic leader and changemaker. Along the way, you'll develop skills, confidence and a broader world view - important tools for lifelong success.  Focused on social justice issues and rooted in education, service and reflection, our Alternative Break trips give you hands-on opportunities to learn, serve and lead in new and unexpected ways. In recent years, students have:

    • Explored cultural preservation through drum circles of the Quileute Tribe in La Push, Washington;
    • Helped build sustainable and affordable housing in North Carolina; and
    • Actively engaged in sea turtle protection in Zakynthos, Greece, while taking a close look at the connection between commerce and conservation.

    No matter the destination, our Alternative Break students share common goals to broaden the scope of their college experience and gain a lifelong passion for civic engagement.

    Current students can visit our HUB site to learn more about applying for Alternative Break.

     Turtle release at MMLC   loggerheads-greece

    Join us for our 2025 Alternative Break Maymester!
    Applications are open through 11/13/24

     

    Looking for an unbelievable summer experience? If you're a current student at CofC, apply to join the Center for Civic Engagement for a conservation- and sustainability-focused Alternative Break Maymester. The program runs from May 23, 2025 - June 11, 2025.

    You'll be part of a service experience focused on conservation, sustainability and collaboration. You'll also develop and strengthen career-ready skills, from project management and communication to problem-solving and conflict resolution.

    Questions? Contact Stephanie Visser, director, Center for Civic Engagement, at vissers@cofc.edu. Applications are due Wednesday, 11/13/24, by 10pm.  Apply today!

  • Volunteer Opportunities
    Pop Up ServiceOur partnerships with local non-profits can help connect you to an array of service opportunities.

    Local volunteer opportunities are abundant all year long. Follow us on Instagram for updates on organizations looking for an extra set of hands for a few hours or even through the semester. Here’s a sample of local community organizations our students and staff have served: 

    Here are a few local, national and international organizations that are interested in virtual volunteers:

    Current students can visit our HUB site for more information and service updates.

  • Community Partners

    Are you a Charleston-area non-profit organization looking for ongoing or semester-long volunteers? Do you have an upcoming event that needs a few extra hands? Do you need help promoting your volunteer event on campus? We can help you get the word out. Send us an email at volunteer@cofc.edu and a member of our team will be in touch. 

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Saving Loggerheads in Greece

On this incredible Alternative Break trip, students learned skills in communication, marketing, leadership and more. They also saw how failing systems and policies lead to a declining economy.

Read more
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Building Hope and a Home

Student volunteers work the saw at a Habitat for Humanity build day. Play video

See what makes our monthly build days with Habitat for Humanity so impactful for students.

Habitat for Humanity Build Day