How To Get Involved

Getting involved in community service is simple. Check below to find out what events are coming up and how you can help out. Also, check with the Center for Public Service and the list of community service and education student organizations at Tulane and see if there are any you'd like to join. Finally, contact one of the offices listed at the end of the page if you have any questions.

Community Service-Oriented Student Organizations

Community Action Council of Tulane University Students (CACTUS)

CACTUS was founded in the 1960s in the belief that a college education should extend beyond the classroom. The Community Action Council of Tulane University Students is the oldest and largest student-led community service organization in the country. CACTUS takes on major challenges in New Orleans by providing community assistance to a wide variety of individuals and organizations. CACTUS committees for include:

• American Cancer Society (ACS) - Volunteers work to improve the lives of those who are living with cancer as well as to eliminate America's most fatal illness. Volunteers entertain patients in the oncology unit of the Children's Hospital by playing games, coloring and reading stories. Volunteers also have the opportunity to participate in activities with the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.
• Best Buddies - Through this nationally-recognized organization, Tulane volunteers are paired with individuals with intellectual disabilities in order to enhance their lives by providing opportunities for one-on-on friendships. The buddies get together twice a month for outings and activities, and stay in touch through weekly phone calls, letters or e-mail.
• Boys Hope, Girls Hope - Boys Hope Girls Hope is an organization dedicated to promoting academic success among younger students in New Orleans. One or two evenings a week, Tulane students are transported to either the boys' house or the girls' house to spend time with kids age K-12, help them with their homework, and emphasize the importance of doing well in school. Rewards of volunteering include building relationships with the kids and providing them an opportunity to spend time with someone they can really look up to.
• Children's Athletic Program (CAP) - Volunteers create a positive recreational environment for inner-city children. The purpose is to play games and make crafts while stressing the importance of sportsmanship, teamwork and leadership.
• Communities in School
• Hunger and Homelessness Action Team of Tulane (HATT) - Volunteers combat the issues of hunger and homelessness in the city through a number of different avenues, including working at the Ozanam Inn homeless shelter and soup kitchen and building houses with Habitat for Humanity.
• Habitat for Humanity - Volunteers work one Saturday a month with Habitat building houses in various neighborhoods throughout New Orleans.
• Outreach - Volunteers meet on Saturdays to do hurricane relief work at various sites including neighborhood cleanups, deconstruction of houses and churches, planting public gardens, and painting New Orleans public schools.
• Gert Town Family Center - Gert Town is an amazing area of New Orleans located next to Xavier University. Because it was on much lower ground, it was extremely devastated by the storm and the residents are struggling to rebuild their community. A revival board has been working hard to bring Gert Town back, and that is what this project is primarily focused on now. We will be working with the community center and the children there (like we have in the past) as soon as we can, but first we need to bring Gert Town back just as strong as it was before!
• Book Giving Tree - During the holiday season, CACTUS sponsors the Book Giving Tree, donating books to the hundreds of children we work with throughout the year. Since many children do not possess the skills to read at their grade level, we also record several hundred books on to audiocassette tapes in cooperation with the Listen, Learn and Read program. Books accompanied by tapes allow a child to read along with the tape when parents or tutors are not available.
• Home For Homework (H4H) - Home 4 Homework is an after-school tutorial program located in several local community centers.
• Juvenile Assistance - CACTUS volunteers serve as role models, tutors and friends to girls, ages 13-18, living at the Raintree House. Volunteers plan a weekly activity, from cooking to arts and crafts to roller-skating, based on the hobbies and interests.
• New Orleans Outreach: CACTUS has developed a partnership with local schools, where volunteers act as mentors, skill-building helpers, after school elective instructors and teacher interns, provide a helping hand and a positive influence for children in grades 3 through 5.
• NO/AIDS Task Force - Volunteers choose from a variety of programs designed to address the issue of HIV and AIDS, including organizing special events, fundraising and answering calls for the New Orleans AIDS Task Force.
• New Orleans Technology Assistance Project (NOTAP)
• Odyssey House - Odyssey House is a live-in treatment center for recovering substance abusers who are learning to start over. Volunteers provide companionship to the women clientele through group activities such as: baking, crafts, and personal development exploration exercises. Volunteers host tutoring sessions for men over the age of 20 at the Odyssey House, a substance abuse rehabilitation center. Although the tutoring focuses on reading, volunteers also help them in algebra and other skills required to receive a GED.
• Project Grandpeople - Volunteers visit local nursing homes to participate in and plan activities with residents. Activities include visitation, arts & crafts, games, and holiday parties.
• Rally for New Orleans Schools - The Rally for New Orleans Schools is an initiative to help improve the facilities of the New Orleans Schools by coordinating and soliciting volunteers and resources.
• Reading is Fundamental (RIF) - Fifteen tutors help seventh graders from local schools improve their reading skills in a one-on-one relationship.
• Student Blood Drive Services - CACTUS Volunteers work with the Blood Center of Southeast Louisiana to organize campus blood drives throughout the academic year. Volunteers are needed to educate and provide a general awareness of the importance of blood donations on the Tulane campus. In addition, volunteers help publicize and recruit prospective donors for each blood drive.

Association of Service and Education Organizations

Circle K - Circle K International, the college level of Kiwanis, is dedicated to service, leadership and fellowship on local, national, and international levels. The emphasis of Circle K is to provide the means and opportunities for community service.

Stand for Children - Stand For Children is a grassroots advocacy organization that works to promote the rights of children at a local and national level. At Tulane Stand for Children focuses on issues that affect the Tulane and greater New Orleans communities.

Tulane Meditation Club - The Tulane Meditation Club is a non-sectarian community organization open to Tulane students, faculty, staff, and friends. The club provides an avenue for members to experience the benefits of meditation, self Inquiry, group Inquiry, reflection and engaging in good works.

Tulane Community Leadership Councils - Leadership councils within residential colleges, residence halls, fraternities and sororities, and other student organizations have been established to identify and implement an effective community service partnership for each group.

Objectivism @ Tulane - Objectivism @ Tulane is a student organization devoted to studying objectivist works. Dealing with a philosophical belief that moral truths or external objects exist independently of the individual mind or perception. And that Literature may deal with the emphasizing of external realities rather than beliefs or feelings in literature or art.

Tulane Ornithological Club - This club focuses on the branch of Zoology that deals with the scientific study of birds.

Tibet Association of Tulane University (TATU) - Service and cultural organization dedicated to celebrating Tibetan culture and promoting the welfare of the Tibetan people.

Up Til Dawn - Up 'till Dawn is essentially a letter-writing campaign that raises money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Student Advocacy for Equitable Recovery (SAFER) - SAFER is a Community service based organization founded and run by Tulane students focusing on rebuilding neglected neighborhoods in the New Orleans lower ninth ward area.

For more information, please contact:

Avery Brewton
Community Service Program Manager
abrewton@tulane.edu