Participate in National Volunteer Week from home

It’s National Volunteer Week! No, this is not a reference to our friends living just northwest of the Georgia state line, but it is a great chance to stop and thank our passionate alumni volunteers, along with everyone who gives their time and talent to the University of Georgia. The engagement of the UGA’s 327,000 alumni and 38,000 graduates rely on the volunteer efforts of many loyal and dedicated individuals. Departments across campus also have awesome volunteers who help carry out important work for the university.

We’d like to highlight our own incredible DGD’s who support the Alumni Association in their communities:

Alumni Board of Directors

These 40 graduates represent various class years and professional fields. They meet 3 times a year and attend many events hosted by our team. Board members share their leadership abilities, creative thinking, and access to their personal Bulldog networks to help engage UGA alumni. This group has been crucial to the successful launch of the UGA Mentor Program, taking on one, and sometimes two mentors each!

 

Black Alumni Leadership Council

Over the last four years, these volunteers have spent countless hours building one of UGA’s most successful alumni giving campaigns: the 1961 Club. More importantly, though, this team has established a strong social media presence and an e-newsletter that keep constituents informed and connected to their alma mater. You also may have heard about our incredible annual Black Alumni Homecoming Tailgate that continues to grow. This is just one event that is completely run by our passionate volunteers from this council.

 

Women of UGA Leadership Council

These volunteers engage our female graduates in the metro Atlanta area in making a difference and growing professionally. They host a signature event in Atlanta each fall that has garnered participation from some of our most beloved graduates: Cookies and Cocoa with Hairy Dawg. This annual holiday gathering completely run by Women of UGA volunteers and continues to grow each year. Women of UGA council members are passionate about making a difference for students and have created need-based scholarships to support students with financial need. Their semiannual Mentorship Mondays feature dynamic alumnae in an intimate classroom setting to share wisdom with fellow graduates.

 

Young Alumni Council

This group of outstanding young leaders meets regularly to determine how to best engage graduates 40 and under in the Atlanta area, of which there are nearly 90,000. This group knows that young alumni are eager to get involved, and their efforts to produce events of all shapes and sizes to meet the social and networking needs of young graduates is commendable. From Trivia Nights, Young Alumni Night at Sweetwater, and Ponce City Market Rooftop Takeover, young alumni in their 20’s and 30’s are sure to find a way to remain connected to their alma mater.

 

Student Alumni Council

There are 40 students volunteering hundreds of hours a year to teach UGA’s student body about UGA traditions, and how they can support their peers while also preparing for life as a UGA graduate. From Freshman Welcome to 1785 Day to the G Book App, these leaders meet weekly during the school year to strategize how they will engage the UGA student community. We are so thankful for all that they do—especially their commitment to serving as student ambassadors at many of our key events throughout the year.

 

Alumni Chapter Leaders

These volunteers truly give their “all” to UGA! They organize and lead chapters across the world. Chapter leaders organized more than 900 events last year. They dedicate their Saturdays in the fall to welcoming the Bulldog faithful at game-watching parties, and they involve alumni in meaningful community service projects in their local communities. Chapters also raise much-needed scholarship funds for deserving students, plan elaborate social media campaigns, and make themselves available for guidance on city favorites and relocation to their fellow alumni.

 

UGA Mentors

This is one of the latest additions to UGA’s menu of alumni volunteer opportunities. More than 2,100 alumni have signed up in the system to mentor, resulting in more than 1,200 mentor-student relationships. We are thankful to these volunteers who take time to provide valuable career and life advice to students. There are countless other groups of alumni volunteers across campus, and we are thankful for every graduate who answers the call to get involved. How can you help? There is no better time than now.

 

As always, you can follow UGA and the Alumni Association on social media to stay informed of ways to volunteer and you can locate your local alumni chapter to meet fellow graduates and connect with them online. In the face of the current COVID-19 outbreak, we are making it easier than ever to give back without leaving your home–from simply sharing stories of alumni helping each other to making a gift to support student emergency funds or coronavirus research, there is something you can do to support our faculty and students.

And in the spirit of National Volunteer Week, we hope you’ll share stories and links to photos of you and your fellow graduates volunteering to support your local communities during this time. THANK YOU for everything that YOU are doing to help others – from your families to your communities.