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Join the SVC Executive Board!

Tuesday, November 7 - SVC Executive Board Information Session from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.  in the SVC office (22 Murray Dodge Hall)

Applications due Tuesday, November 21.

Click here to download application.

This is our best attempt to introduce the organization known as the Student Volunteers Council.

The SVC is heir to a long tradition of student volunteerism at Princeton, which dates back to the establishment of the Philadelphian Society in 1825. The SVC came into existence as a student organization, affiliated with the Office of Religious Life, in 1967. The SVC is guided by a student board of directors and the students who organize and participate in its programs, and is the largest student organization at Princeton University.

Over the last few years we’ve been modifying the way we approach our service projects. We’ve also been taking time to reflect on why we serve and how we might better live up to Woodrow Wilson’s charge to be “Princeton in the nation’s service.” Rather than view ourselves as eliminators of needs- a child’s need for instruction, a senior citizen’s need for companionship, an ailing community’s need for outside help- we also endeavor to act as builders of assets- a child’s sense of pride, a senior citizen’s lessons for life, our vital community’s call for us to join in its improvement. Our projects and the interaction we have with our neighbors are changing because of this “assets-based” approach, and so is our organization. We are striving to use the resources of both the university and the greater community together. We are actively seeking to strike a balance between serving the needs of those we work with and building upon the resources within the community. We realize that by addressing the needs of the community through becoming more knowledgeable and sensitive mentors, tutors, etc., we can better use and build the assets of our community. The SVC believes in working with real people in real neighborhoods who themselves have something to give.

Becoming an SVC volunteer is not terribly difficult; we’ll provide transportation, training, and the occasional snack. If you don’t have much time, or you play a varsity sport, or you’ve never done this sort of thing before, there’s still a project for you. Simply browse this website, attend one of our beginning-of-semester Open Houses, drop by 22 Murray-Dodge Hall, or call us at (609) 258-5557. We only ask that you volunteer consistently, and keep your eyes open to the community around you. Join us!