Gettysburg College is dedicated to serving the community, and its impact is evident through the many areas of campus where students, faculty, and staff come together to drive meaningful change in the world. The Center for Public Service (CPS), Athletics, and Greek Life are three of the key contributors that exemplify this commitment.
Center for Public Service (CPS)
The Center for Public Service (CPS) at Gettysburg College serves as a hub for community engagement and service. With a mission to connect Gettysburgians to community partners, CPS is dedicated to driving positive social change through its goal-oriented initiatives.
“We don’t measure our success by the number of volunteers,” explained Jeffrey Rioux, Director of CPS. “We ask ourselves, are we making a difference? Are we moving the needle when it comes to poverty eradication, educational equity, food insecurity, climate change, and immigrant rights?”
CPS offers summer fellowships, immersion projects, and opportunities for community-engaged research and learning. The center also partners with 15 local programs—each led by student program coordinators—to encourage local involvement and address community needs.
Gettysburg Is Volunteering (GIV) Day is an annual tradition held by CPS during First-Year Orientation. While first-year students are welcomed to campus, they are also introduced to the local community and exposed to the wide range of service opportunities available to them.
Throughout GIV Day, Gettysburgians directly participate in service activities across Adams County. “We want to educate our new students on the issues facing our community. Half of the day is service, and the other half is education,” shared Rioux.
Ethan Acevedo ’26 is the program coordinator for the South Central Community Action Programs (SCCAP) Food Pantry and Gleaning Project, which is dedicated to reducing food insecurity and eradicating poverty.
“Adams County is a big producer of fruits and vegetables, and grocery stores have certain standards for the produce that they sell,” Acevedo explained. “We go to farms in Adams County to pick the leftover fruits and vegetables, which gives low-income families better access to the produce that is typically more expensive at grocery stores.”
Acevedo underscores the importance in educating people on community service through events like GIV Day. “The point is to have first-years get acclimated and into the mindset of our community. As a leader, I find it important to thoughtfully explain the stories of our town. We need to acknowledge the fact that not everybody started at the same place in society, and in order to work towards equality, we need to help raise up the people who have been underrepresented. That’s what we do here at CPS and with the SCCAP program. We provide opportunities to those families who had traditionally been marginalized and try to offer ways for them to become successful in society.”
Solangel Hernández López ’26 is the program coordinator for Campus Kitchen, where she oversees food donations and volunteer coordination.
“As a student leader for GIV Day, I had the privilege of guiding a group of volunteers to the Campus Kitchen,” she shared. “During our visit, we provided an overview of our program's operations and its impact on the community. We also engaged in hands-on tasks to prepare for future shifts, including cleaning the freezer by removing outdated donations, updating the inventory, discarding expired cans, and reflecting on our experiences.”
Student leadership is highly encouraged at Gettysburg College. Leadership is one of the enduring skills that the College aims to develop and deepen within its students through its signature Gettysburg Approach.
“As a program coordinator for Campus Kitchen, I've demonstrated student leadership by mobilizing volunteers, managing resources, and leading by example,” explained Hernández López. “My role emphasizes effective communication, problem solving, and motivating others, which are key aspects of student leadership.”
Athletics
Gettysburg College Athletics also contributes significantly to community service initiatives on campus and beyond. With 24 Division III sports teams, Gettysburg student-athletes are encouraged to give back locally, nationally, and internationally through its programs.
“Community service is not something that is forced upon our teams,” shared Mike Mattia, Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Campus Recreation. “It is something that our teams want to do and that they are excited about. They are proactive and want to be a part of it, which speaks to the type of student-athletes we have and the students in general who come to Gettysburg.”
Each year, the field hockey and men’s lacrosse teams partner together for a food distribution project at a local food bank. The women’s soccer team fundraises to build soccer fields and playgrounds in Africa. The football team contributes to a bone marrow drive. These examples represent only a fraction of the many ways in which our athletic teams are making a difference.
One team determined to spark positive change in the community is men’s lacrosse. In the past, the team has been involved with the AHA Heart Walk, the Headstrong Mustache Madness event, the Painted Turtle Farm, the Adams County Special Olympic event, and more.
“Most of the organizations we support could be dealing with setbacks financially, around health or around awareness,” said Head Coach Peter Toner. “With over 50 players on the team, we have a ton of manpower to not only help these organizations, but to give our guys a true sense of what else is going on around campus, locally or nationally that they may have never dealt with and ways to make an impact to improve somebody else’s situation as best we can.”
Each year, eight to 10 members of the team volunteer to be a part of the Community Service Board, and these Gettysburgians constantly stay on the lookout for community service events to bring back to the coaching staff and team.
“I think the best part about the Board is that it has a variety of classes, as well as a variety of leadership levels involved,” explained Toner. “We could have guys that maybe don’t necessarily play on game day but want to contribute to the teams in other ways. It is a great mixture of players involved and I think they all benefit from leading our initiatives because it is coming from their peers, not just coach to player.”
Greek Life
Greek Life at Gettysburg College is also highly dedicated to community service. Each of the six sororities and seven fraternities actively support charitable causes through their philanthropic initiatives.
The Chi Omega women’s fraternity, for instance, fundraises for the Make-A-Wish foundation. Each year, they host numerous philanthropy events, with the largest and most impactful being Chi O Night Live, a campus-wide talent show which is held in the fall semester.
Ashley Carbonier ’25, the Chi Omega philanthropy chair, noted, “Chi O Night Live is an incredibly special event that raises money for a cause that we care so deeply about. It’s a great opportunity for all of the organizations on campus to come together in support of Make-A-Wish.”
“Being a part of Greek Life provides me and my sisters with the chance to not only raise money for our foundation, but to also support other organizations and their philanthropies,” she added. “Being the philanthropy chair has given me a valuable leadership role and has allowed me to promote the importance of community involvement.”
Last year, more than 800 people attended Chi O Night Live and nearly $3,000 was raised. Because of the fraternity’s efforts, a child battling cancer was granted his wish of traveling to Disney World in Florida.
Take action in the Gettysburg community and beyond by getting involved today.
Related Links:
External Links:
- South Central Community Action Program (SCCAP)
- American Heart Association (AHA)
- Headstrong Foundation
- Make-A-Wish
By Brooke Askin’25
Photos by Kailey White and provided by studentsÂ
Posted: 09/25/24