Community Commitment

Community Commitment 2026 will be on Sunday, September 27 starting at 9:30 a.m.!

Join your fellow Buckeyes in a day of service. Get connected to the Columbus community at Pay It Forward’s 29th Annual Community Commitment. Since 1997, Buckeyes have started the new school year by coming together to serve  Whether you volunteer together with your student organization, a group of friends or want to get involved individually, all undergraduate, graduate and professional students are invited to join Pay It Forward as we ring in the new academic year by giving back to the city of Columbus through a morning of community service! Students will have the opportunity to participate in 2-3 hours of community service with a local nonprofit around a variety of community needs.

Registration starts at 9:30 a.m. on September 27. After the opening ceremony, busses will depart from the Ohio Union starting at 10:45. Busses will start the return trip to the Ohio Union starting at 2 p.m., and will arrive at the Union between 2:15-3:00 p.m.

On-site service projects at the Ohio Union will take place between 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Are you looking to serve as an individual? 

We are so excited to have you join us as an individual at Community Commitment! There will be no advance pre-registration for individuals - individual registration will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 27 at the Ohio Union.

Are you looking to register your organization or group to serve together? 

Thank you for your interest in volunteering for Community Commitment! Pre-registration allows student organization members and groups larger than five to have preference of being paired together at the same service site(s). Groups can check in for the event starting at 9:30.

Pre-registration for groups is open. Please submit your group registration here.

Do you want to volunteer to be a site leader?

Site Leaders are students who volunteer to serve as peer leaders and liaisons for the Community Commitment team for the day of the event. Site Leaders help to ensure a successful service engagement by reaching out to the Community Commitment team in the event of any troubleshooting needs and provide energy and enthusiasm to fellow students for the day of service. Site Leaders will receive a Starbucks gift card as a thank you for going above and beyond! All site leaders must be actively enrolled Ohio State students in order to participate as a site leader and to receive their gift card. All site leaders are expected to arrive at the Ohio Union by 8:45 a.m. on the day of the event, and will be expected to complete a brief training before the event.

Site leader applications are open until 9/8. Apply here!

Are you an agency looking to participate?

Agency registration for Community Commitment Day of Service 2026 is open. Use the link here to apply to be an on or off campus service site. Please reach out to Emma Speyer, speyer.21@osu.edu with any questions or concerns.