Service Projects

Service Projects

NOTES: Below is a list of community partners and service projects for staff to participate and engage in. We do ask that staff RSVP for a service project (feel free to RSVP for more than 1) so we can track where our service and outreach is taking place

  • Child Development Center (Volunteer spaces available: 2) 
    • Project Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
    • Volunteers will assist with building new outdoor furniture for the center 
  • Creativity Corner (Volunteer spaces available: 47) 
    • Chew Toys for Animal Shelters (10)
      • Project Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
      • Volunteers will make chew toys for animals using fleece. Chew toys will be donated to a local area animal shelter
      • Location: The Hub, Side Pocket
    • Cards for Active and Veteran Military Services (5)
      • Project Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
      • Volunteers will make cards for A Million Thanks who provides support and appreciation to our active and veteran military men and women through sending letters. Volunteers will be writing letters and making cards for our active and veteran military men and women.
      • Location: The Hub, Student Involvement (Room 2300)
    • Blankets for Animal Shelters (10)
      • Project Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
      • Volunteers will make blankets for animals using fleece. Blankets will be donated to a local area animal shelter
      • Location: The Hub, Side Pocket
    • Pats for Patriots (10)
      • Project Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
      • Volunteers will help submit Pats for Patriots to thank, recognize, show appreciation for a Mason colleague or student who has taken the time to do something kind, generous or thoughtful towards others.
      • Location: The Hub, Side Pocket
    • Mason Chooses Kindness Rock Painting (12)
      • Project Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
      • Volunteers will help paint rocks with inspiriting messages of hope, encouragement, or fun designs to share with others.  Painted rocks can be hidden around your neighborhoods or other local area locations.
      • Location: The Hub, Student Involvement (Room 2300)
  • Create Your Own Service Project
    • If you have a service project you are interested in doing that isn’t listed here, please select this ticket. We realize that many folks have connections to other organizations (ex: non-profit groups, youth groups, churches, etc.) and may have other areas of need or service possibilities. If you select this option and would like to share, please email Lisa Snyder (lsnyder2@gmu.edu) to share which project you are doing.
  • The EDGE at Mason (Volunteer spaces available: 20) 
    • Project Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
    • Volunteers: Outdoor work, moving mulch or clipping weeds, trail clearing, etc. Please be sure to wear close-toed athletic shoes, bring water & sunscreen
    • Location: 9100 Freedom Center blvd. Manassas
  • Fairfax Humane Society Admin Building (Volunteer spaces available: 3)
    • Project Time: 10:00am-12:00pm
    • Volunteers will help with whatever needs to be done that day. Typical daily needs may include: folding towels, sorting food donations, unpacking deliveries, making copies of contracts, etc.
    • Location: 4057 Chainbridge Road
  • Fairfax Humane Society – Farm (Volunteer spaces available: 10)
    • Project Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
    • Volunteers will help with fence painting, mowing/weed whacking, filling in holes in dog yards, Potentially baths for dogs, and weeding the front gardens.
    • Location: 15911 Lee highway, Centreville VA 20121.
  • Fairfax Library (Volunteer spaces available: 4) 
    • Project Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
    • Volunteers will will assist with cleaning and disinfecting of library tables.
    • Location: 10360 North St, Fairfax, VA 22030
  • LGBTQ+ Trans Closet (Volunteer spaces available: 2)
    • Project Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
    • Volunteers will help with clothing inventory and sorting.
    • Location: SUB I, Room 2200
  • Make a Change: Call or write a letter to your senator or local leaders (Volunteer spaces available: 15)
    • Project Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
    • Is there something in our communities/society that would like to see change? Call or write a letter to your senator or reach out to local leaders to share your concerns and ideas for positive change. Volunteers will have a chance to engage with others participating in this project and are encouraged to bring a laptop for this project.
    • Location: The Hub, Side Pocket
  • Mason Chooses Kindness: Chalking (Volunteer spaces available: 10) 
    • Project Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
    • As part of Mason Chooses Kindness’ Mission, “create and sustain an infectious kindness revolution at Mason”, volunteers are needed to help chalk various locations around campus with inspiring and positive messages. Chalking will take place in various locations around campus.
    • Location: Various locations around campus. Meet in Student Involvement (The Hub, Room 2300 to pick up chalk supplies)
  • President’s Park Innovation Food Forrest (Volunteer spaces available: 15)
    • Project Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
    • Join Doni at the Innovation Food Forest to help clear weeds from the pathways and prune shrubs. The Food Forest is full of perennial plants like fruit trees, edible tubers and berry bushes that produce food sustainably with fewer inputs. Plants like passion fruit vines and fig trees produce hundreds of fruits every fall! Learn how to identify edibles and invasive weeds. We recommend wearing a hat and sunscreen and bringing a reusable water bottle. We have used gardening gloves to share, but feel free to bring your own.
    • Location: The food forest is located near the south/lower-level entrance of the Johnson Center, next to Innovation Hall at 4699 Mattaponi River Ln. Volunteers can walk in and find staff near the center of the site.
  • Voter Registration Training (Volunteer spaces available: 15)
    • Arina van Breda, Director of Voter Registration of the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area (LWVFA),  will give a presentation on how GMU students can register to vote (on or off-campus), and how you can help them accomplish this important task. This will include a review of FAQ for college students and a list of resources to help answer questions that might come up. Voting is an essential part of being an active part of our democracy. We can help empower students by helping them to vote! The LWV is a non-partisan, all volunteer organization founded in 1920 after women got the right to vote in the USA. We are  dedicated to empowering voters and defending democracy.
    • Times:
      • Session 1: 9:30am-10:30am
      • Session 2: 10:30am-11:30am
    • Location: The LEAD Office (The Hub, Room 2400)
  • University Sustainability Cardboard Cutting (Volunteer spaces available: 10) 
    • Project Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
    • We are collecting gently used cardboard (ex: Amazon boxes, store boxes, etc.) to shred and donate to Mason’s very own University Sustainability Office. We can also accept paper (ex: printer paper, notebook paper, newspaper, etc.).  If you would like to donate these items, please deliver to the LEAD Office on Monday, July 22nd anytime between 9:00am-4:00pm. Donations can also be brought to the Creativity Corner (The Hub, Student Involvement) on the Day of Service at 9:00am. On the UL Day of Service, volunteers will work together to help breakdown and shred cardboard/paper so that it can be used for composting.
    • Location: Student Involvement, Student Government Room (The Hub, Room 2300)

Campus Drives

  • Cardboard Donations
    • We are collecting gently used cardboard (ex: Amazon boxes, store boxes, etc.) to shred and donate to Mason’s very own University Sustainability Office. We can also accept paper (ex: printer paper, notebook paper, newspaper, etc.).  If you would like to donate these items, please deliver to the LEAD Office on Monday, July 22nd anytime between 9:00am-4:00pm. Donations can also be brought to the Creativity Corner (The Hub, Student Involvement) on the Day of Service at 9:00am. On the UL Day of Service, volunteers will work together to help breakdown and shred cardboard/paper so that it can be used for composting.
  • Mason’s Patriot Pantry Donations
    • Volunteers are needed to help donate items to support Mason’s very own Patriot Pantry is a crucial campus resource that works to mitigate the challenges that students face with food insecurity and hunger at GMU. The pantry provides access to non-perishable food and hygiene items, while also raising awareness about food insecurity within the Mason community. The Patriot Pantry relies heavily on donations to operate, and while all forms of generosity is appreciated, the most helpful contributions can be made through the Amazon Wishlist. This wish list is updated frequently with items that are most necessary for the pantry to provide. A donation through the wish list is as easy as can be by using the provided link and selecting any items that you are able to purchase. Donations are directly sent to the pantry.
  • Women Giving Back 
    • Women Giving Back is in need of gently used clothing items. Donated clothes can be dropped off at the LEAD Office (The Hub, Room 2400) July 8-23 or dropped off at the UL Social on July 24th between 1:00pm-2:30pm. (The Hub, Side Pocket) Items that are in need, can be found at: https://womengivingback.org/give-clothing/.