When students arrive on campus for New Student Orientation each fall, they experience a variety of educational and social activities designed to help them successfully transition to Ringling College of Art and Design, and to become actively involved in the Sarasota community.

The Student Volunteerism and Service-Learning staff strive to develop and broaden these types of learning opportunities to help students enhance their leadership skills, build friendships, and facilitate teamwork. As part of the Orientation experience, students participate in a self-selected community service project.

Read through the 2012 selections below and be sure to fill out the form to participate with your top preferences (located under the "Mandatory Forms" section). 

****You must log in with your Ringling College user i.d. and password. If you do not yet have this set up, please go to the Ringling College Portal at my.ringling.edu and click on "New Account" on the  left side. You will need your Student ID number.****

Remember to bring closed-toe shoes, protection from the sun (hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen) and bugs, wear long pants and light-weight work clothes that you do not mind getting dirty! 

Looking forward to serving our community with you,

Rachel Levey-Baker, Director of Student Volunteerism and Service-Learning 

Heather Kushner, Assistant Coordinator of Student Volunteerism and Service-Learning and AmeriCorps*VISTA

 

***2013 New Student Orientation selections will be available August 1, 2013.***

NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION SERVICE PROJECTS 2012

Community Haven For Adults and Children with Disabilities

Join in this beautification project to help spruce up this valuable community asset!  Students will be doing cleaning the administration building, propagating plant clippings with the horticultural department.  Additionally, this organization is hosting a community Open House on this day. Students will also help out at the event with the dunk booth (but not getting dunked!), golf games, face painting and other games, taking tickets and interacting with families. 

Community Haven for Adults & Children with Disabilities,  Inc. creates solutions and makes changes in the  lives of children, teens, and adults with disabilities by providing a variety of specialized programs and services, such as Early Childhood Intervention, School-to-Work Transition, Occupational  Rehabilitation, Work Force Development,  Kaleidoscope Musical Theater, Employment Opportunities, and Community Living. 

Please bring sunscreen, bug spray, wear closed-toe shoes, long pants and bring a hat. Beware of fire ants!

Learn more about this organization at http://www.communityhaven.com/index.htm. 

 

The Sarasota YMCA

The Sarasota Family YMCA has been at the heart of Sarasota for 64 years. Today, they touch nearly 80,000 lives through four fitness branches and offer youth and family development programs within four counties. They live their not-for-profit mission by providing life changing experiences and assistance to everyone of all ages, background, ability, race or religion.

Students will be sprucing up the exterior of the site of the former youth shelter. The YMCA hopes to return the shelter to this site. Your help doing this clean up will be of great value to the YMCA by offsetting the expensive costs to renovate the space for the shelter.

Please bring sunscreen, bug spray, wear closed-toe shoes, long pants and bring a hat. Beware of fire ants!

Find out more about the YMCA at www.sarasota-ymca.org

 

Orange Blossom Community Garden

Participants will assist this valuable community asset by: starting seeds for their fall garden and plant sharing, starting pineapple plants, helping ready garden plots for fall youth gardening activities, helping clean and ready garden plots for some of our neighborhood non-profit organizations, moving and organizing supplies and materials, laying cardboard and spreading mulch between beds for walkways, general garden sprucing up/cleaning up. The garden could also use some assistance creating signage for their composting areas. 

Please bring sunscreen, bug spray, wear closed-toe shoes, long pants and bring a hat. Beware of fire ants!

Sarasota County Park- Alligator Creek

This county park is essentially raw land that is split by a tidally influenced drainage canal, Alligator Creek. The County recently purchased 27 acres along the creek to build a pedestrian path in the near future. Much of the land is either hammock or mix of pine flatwoods and hardwoods, including portions of a maple swamp. Participants will be outdoors and working on uneven terrain and should wear long pants to be protected from invasive and nuisance plants. 

Please bring sunscreen, bug spray, wear closed-toe shoes, long pants and bring a hat. Beware of fire ants!

Find out more about the Sarasota County Parks at www.foscp.org

 

Sarasota County Parks- Caspersen Beach Park

This park clean up with involve removing invasive plants, such as grape vine, love vine, and brazilian pepper, and removing debris.

Please bring sunscreen, bug spray, wear closed-toe shoes, long pants and bring a hat. Beware of fire ants!

Find out more about the Sarasota County Parks at www.foscp.org