Huskie Paws for a Cause

Video Credit: Northern Star

NIU students, including members of Alpha Kappa Lambda were a huge part in making the Heritage Woods Prom a success. Check out the video of our awesome students in action!

SPRING 2013 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

January

Feed'em Soup Community Project

Wednesday, January 30th, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. or 4:30 - 7:30 p.m.

122 South First Street, Dekalb, IL 60115

The Feed'em Soup Community Project's mission is unique in that it serves nutritious cuisine to the community regardless of an individual's situation, background or ability to pay. In January, Feed'em Soup's twice a month meals will expand to weekly meals, and therefore Feed'em will need more volunteers to help out! On Wedneday, January 30, 2013, eight volunteers are needed for the 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. shift and 20 are needed for the 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. shift.

February

DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Center

Sign-up for this event is currently closed.

Thursday, February 14th, 10:00 a.m.

2600 North Annie Glidden, DeKalb, IL 60115

During the Holidays, many families are often unable to visit their parents and grandparents at retirement homes. Make someone's day by spending part of Valentines Day making cookies and Valentines Day cards with seniors at the DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Center.

March

DeKalb County Youth Service Bureau Royal Children's Ball

Sign-up for this event is currently closed.

Friday, March 8, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

The DeKalb County Youth Service Bureau (YSB) is hosing its annual fundraiser, the Royal Children's Ball! Proceeds from this event allow YSB the ability to continue to offer discounted counseling services for those who would not otherwise have access to care. This wonderful event provides families with young children an opportunity to participate in a “magical” evening where children get dressed up and partake in royal-like events.

Activities include dancing, magic/balloon animals, a hair salon, family portraits, raffle area, craft room (most help needed here), food service, and the gauntlet (kid-friendly obstacle course).

April

NIU Cares Day

Saturday, April 20, 2013, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

NIU Cares Day occurs annually and is a campus-wide day of service. Throughout the day, student groups visit organizations and residents and complete service projects that they would not be able to complete without the help of our students. Last year, 1600 students volunteered at more than 80 sites around the DeKalb/Sycamore community.

If you would like to sign-up as a team or individually (Team NIU Cares), please send an email with your Team name, Team Leader's contact information (name, phone number, and email address) to niucaresday@niu.edu.

May

Goodwill Campus Donation Drive

Date: April 30th - the end of the school year

NIU has been selected as one of five colleges and universities nationwide to partner up with Goodwill Industries and Keep America Beautiful on a pilot “move-out week” program.

Each spring, when college students depart from residence halls on campuses nationwide, they leave behind millions of pounds of clothing and recyclable household items that are typically stuffed in tractor-trailer-sized trash bins and hauled to landfills.

Students are being encouraged to donate gently-used clothing, lamps, working condition electronics (but no televisions), kitchen items, sporting goods and non-perishable foods, which will be provided to a local food pantry. Bins for these items will be placed around residence halls and emptied and returned when full! Do you part and help contribute to this great cause!

Transportation Options:

NIU Huskie Line

Voluntary Action Center’s Green Line Bus

FALL 2012 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

August

Saturday of Service

August 25, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

As part of our Welcome Days students can participate in meaningful and empowering volunteer opportunities supporting campus and community agencies. Start at the Saturday of Service kick-off home-base, located in the Holmes Student Center Duke Ellington Ballroom, then choose from a variety of service options. Student Involvement & Leadership Development will host a plastic bag mat making event in the Holmes Student Center Capitol Room where students will cut, tie, and crochet plastics bags into mats to help the homeless stay dry.

Kite Fest

September 9, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

North 40 field (behind Barsema Hall and College of Engineering)
Get involved in a long-standing DeKalb family tradition. This outdoor kite spectacle needs individuals to help with crowd maintenance, children activities, parking attendants, set-up and tear-down, and general event assistance. Volunteer shifts are as follows: 9 - 11 a.m., 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., 2 - 4 p.m., 4 - 6 p.m.

October

Read to a Huskie

October 7, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Make an elementary student’s day by joining with the NIU first-year connections classes to read with them at the DeKalb Public Library! You can sign-up via email at: firstconn@niu.edu, or stopping at the first-year connections tables in the MLK Commons, DuSable, or the Holmes Student Center on September 11th or 12th. This program is part of The Common Reading Experience.

November

Rake Across DeKalb

November 10, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Join in NIU's newest fall semester campus-wide service event! Rake Across DeKalb sends volunteers from the NIU community (students, faculty, and staff) into the community to assist area residents with lawn clean-up in preparation for winter. Participation is free for both volunteers and those residents wishing to add to our list of project sites.

Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week (November 12 - 17)

Northern Illinois Food Bank Pack

Monday, November 12th, 9:00 - 12:00 p.m.

273 Dearborn Ct., Geneva IL

Help those in need in our community. The Northern Illinois Food Bank needs volunteers to organize and pack food and toiletry items for families in Northern Illinois.

Fill out this form and e-mail it to communityservice@niu.edu, or return to the Campus Life Building, rm 150 by November 5th, 2012 to RSVP. Transportation is limited but will be provided on a first RSVP'ed, first served basis.

Feed My Starving Children MobilePack

Thursday, November 15th, 12:30 - 2:30 p.m.

Cornerstone Christian Academy, Sycamore, IL

Make an impact in our global community by packing meals for hungry children around the world. One volunteer can usually pack 1 box, which equals 216 meals — enough to feed 7 starving children for nearly a month!

To participate please RSVP with your name and contact information to to communityservice@niu.edu by November 5th, 2012

Please visit our Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week webpage for more details.

December

Breakfast with Santa

Saturday, December 8th, 7:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Help Cortland Elementary serve a pancake breakfast to students and their families as they take family pictures, do crafts, and, of course, talk to Santa! Volunteers are needed in two shifts, 7:00 - 10:30am and 10:00 - 2:00 pm. Please e-mail communityservice@niu.edu if interested!