Office of Student Life
Leadership and Community Engagement

Community Engagement Week

What is Community Engagement Week?

Community Engagement Week, presented by Leadership and Community Engagement within the Office of Student Life, is a collaboration with Buck-I-SERV, Nonprofit Immersion Program, OSU Votes, and Pay It Forward to strengthen student community engagement at Ohio State and beyond. Whether you are new to community engagement or are already heavily involved, we encourage all students to attend at least one event this week to strengthen their engagement with direct service, civic participation, and community building at Ohio State, in Columbus and beyond.

When is Community Engagement Week?

Community Engagement Week 2024 will be February 11-17. Check out our full schedule of events below!

What are the benefits of Community Engagement Week?

We want students to take advantage of as many Community Engagement week events as possible, so we've incorporated an incentive program for students! For each session students attend, they will be entered to win one of several North Market gift cards. The more sessions students attend, the more entries they'll receive.

What is the Community Engagement Week Schedule?

Please find a list of Community Engagement Week events below. Events and opportunities will continue to be added throughout January.

Monday, February 12:

Drop by Civic Engagement Tabling with OSU Votes
  • 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., Ohio Union Credenza
  • OSU Votes interns will be available to answer questions about first-time voter registration, updating your voter registration, upcoming dates and deadlines and anything civic engagement. Students are able to register to vote in or update their voter registration to Franklin County (or elsewhere) in real time with the help of OSU Votes. To be eligible for the Community Engagement Week incentive program, please share your name and Ohio State email with the OSU Votes intern at the table.
Voting 101 and the Importance of Media Literacy presented by OSU Votes
  • 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., Zoom Webinar
  • Join OSU Votes to learn about voter registration, different modes of voting, how to be an informed voter, voting rights, and media literacy. This interactive workshop will provide participants with the tools needed to be informed voters for the primary election. There will also be information on other ways to be civically engaged on campus and beyond.
  • Registration at this Link

Tuesday, February 13:

Drop by Civic Engagement Tabling with OSU Votes
  • 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., Kennedy Commons
  • OSU Votes interns will be available to answer questions about first-time voter registration, updating your voter registration, upcoming dates and deadlines and anything civic engagement. Students are able to register to vote in or update their voter registration to Franklin County (or elsewhere) in real time with the help of OSU Votes. To be eligible for the Community Engagement Week incentive program, please share your name and Ohio State email with the OSU Votes intern at the table.
Values-Based Service: Moving from Charity to Justice presented by Break Away
  • 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., Zoom Webinar
  • Service is about putting your values to work. Using Tania D. Mitchell’s model for critical service-learning, we will discuss the differences between charity-centered service and justice-centered service. This workshop will also cover strategies to help build a service practice focused on solidarity with our community partners.
  • Registration at this Link

Wednesday, February 14:

Drop by Civic Engagement Tabling with OSU Votes
  • 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., Ohio Union Credenza
  • OSU Votes interns will be available to answer questions about first-time voter registration, updating your voter registration, upcoming dates and deadlines and anything civic engagement. Students are able to register to vote in or update their voter registration to Franklin County (or elsewhere) in real time with the help of OSU Votes. To be eligible for the Community Engagement Week incentive program, please share your name and Ohio State email with the OSU Votes intern at the table.
Lunch and Serve: Community Engaged Service with Pay It Forward
  • 12:00 p.m - 1:00 p.m., Ohio Union Barbie Tootle Room
  • Join Pay It Forward in community service at the Ohio Union. Participants will make dog and cat toys for local animal shelters and write letters to be given to elderly individuals in assisted living facilities. This program will provide an opportunity for meaningful service and engagement with the convenience of being located on campus.
  • Boxed lunches will be provided for the first 20 attendees.

Thursday, February 15:

Drop by Civic Engagement Tabling with OSU Votes
  • 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., Ohio Union Credenza
  • OSU Votes interns will be available to answer questions about first-time voter registration, updating your voter registration, upcoming dates and deadlines and anything civic engagement. Students are able to register to vote in or update their voter registration to Franklin County (or elsewhere) in real time with the help of OSU Votes. To be eligible for the Community Engagement Week incentive program, please share your name and Ohio State email with the OSU Votes intern at the table.
Lunch and Learn: Voting 101 and Knowing Your Civil Rights and Liberties presented by OSU Votes
  • 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., Ohio Union Student-Alumni Council Room
  • Join OSU Votes to learn about voter registration, different modes of voting, how to be an informed voter, voting rights and civil rights and liberties. This interactive workshop will provide participants with the tools needed to be informed voters for the primary election. There will also be information on other ways to be civically engaged on campus and beyond.
  • Boxed lunches will be provided for the first 20 attendees.
Being a Good Partner: A Panel with the Non-Profit Immersion program
  • NEW TIME 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., Zoom Webinar
  • Due to a last minute schedule change, this webinar will be recorded and sent to all registered participants who can no longer attend the new time. We appreciate your understanding and flexibility.
  • The Non-Profit Immersion Program is a year long program where students are paired with non-profit agencies to work closely together doing service, sitting on the board, and developing a project that allows both the partners and the students to benefit. In this panel of community partners engaged with the Non-profit Immersion Program, students will learn about best practices for how to work closely with community partners in a mutually benficial and ethical manner, as well as more information about the Non-Profit Immersion Program.
  • Registration at this Link
Creating Sustainable Movements: Mitigating Activist Burnout presented by Break Away
  • 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., Zoom Webinar
  • With the belief that student activism has always made our campuses more just and equitable, this workshop will focus on honoring the activists themselves. Based on data from a national study chronicled in the book, Identity-Based Student Activism: Power + Oppression on College Campuses, this workshop shares strategies and approaches to supporting identity-based activists and activism and cover strategies to prevent and respond to student activism burnout.
  • Registration at this Link

Friday, February 16:

Drop by Civic Engagement Tabling with OSU Votes
  • 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., Kennedy Commons
  • OSU Votes interns will be available to answer questions about first-time voter registration, updating your voter registration, upcoming dates and deadlines and anything civic engagement. Students are able to register to vote in or update their voter registration to Franklin County (or elsewhere) in real time with the help of OSU Votes. To be eligible for the Community Engagement Week incentive program, please share your name and Ohio State email with the OSU Votes intern at the table.
Drop by Community Engaged Service with Pay it Forward
  • 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., Ohio Union Student-Alumni Council Room
  • Join Pay It Forward in community service at the Ohio Union. Participants can drop by at any time to make blankets for children in the foster care system. This program will provide an opportunity for meaningful service and engagement with the convenience of being located on campus. To be eligible for the Community Engagement Week incentive program, please share your name and Ohio State email with the program coordinator at the event.

 

Questions? Please contact Meagen Rinard!

If you require an accommodation such as live captioning or interpretation to participate in a Community Engagement Week event, please contact Meagen Rinard at rinard.9@osu.edu or 614-688-4942. Requests made by one week before the selected session will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the university will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.