Students in San Antonio, Texas are listening to VOICES. No, they are not hearing them in their head. They are taking part in a student run organization set up to help get students involved in the community. Volunteer Organization Involving Community Education and Service (VOICES) was created in 1993 by four students and an advisor. Over the years, it has grown into quite an extensive volunteering program.

VOICES sponsors six annual programs. The projects range from cleaning up a local road to having a volunteer opportunity fair twice a year. The projects are designed to allow students to take part in any or all depending on their own abilities and time schedules. Students do not even have to be a member of VOICES to participate. The goal is to get students involved in the community.

With an opportunity or project planned for almost every weekend, there is little danger of not having the ability to find a project, which you can work into your busy schedule. Some are a one time only project while others are more of an ongoing nature. Students can even participate in a program which encourages students to dedicate their spring break to helping others instead of partying the time away.

VOICES is set up to include six different levels of involvement. Volunteers are students who would like to participate in a program activity. Members are volunteers who complete three VOICES service projects and serve on at least one committee. These levels allow the student to become involved without having to deal with any of the management type of details that are involved in the projects.

Several levels of involvement actually include more of a management type experience. A Project Coordinator is responsible for contacting a community agency and working with them throughout the semester in order to coordinate a service project with the agency. All service projects should allow students to volunteer at an agency at least once a month. The Awareness Monthly Coordinators choose one month during the semester and set up one service project and two educational programs based upon that month’s theme. If you are looking for even more management type of experience, look at the Program Coordinator level of involvement. At that level, you will chair a committee that is responsible for planning and carrying out one of the annual programs. The executive officers serve a term of one year and oversee the entire program.

Not only do the volunteers learn from participating in the different projects, but they can also learn from participating in any of the upper levels of involvement. Having the management of the different projects broken down in such a manner allows more volunteers to stretch their wings and grow into a more management frame of mind. This is a wonderful opportunity for those that would like to pursue a career in management to get some practical experience while extending their hand to help others.

Even if you are not a student of the University of Texas or live in the San Antonio area, you can still gain something very valuable from this program. If you look at the VOICES program, and use their model to form a similar project in your own area, you too can make a difference in your community.