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Student Organizations, Leadership, and Service

Service at Vanderbilt

The Office of Student Organizations, Leadership, and Service is home to all service opportunities, organizations, and programs at Vanderbilt. We work alongside a variety of community partners, non-profits, organizations, and agencies in the Metro Nashville area to provide meaningful and engaging service opportunities for our students.

Submit a service Opportunity

Are you a local non-profit, business, organization or agency? Are you in need of volunteers? Please email caroline.e.wilson@vanderbilt.edu for more information!

Annual Service fair

Each year, The Office of Student Organizations, Leadership, and Service hosts the Service Fair. This event allows community partners, non-profits, organizations, and agencies to connect and engage with Vanderbilt Students. Student service organizations are also invited to the event to promote their volunteer opportunities and service projects. Thank you to all of our community partners and organizations for attending this year’s Service Fair!

The 2023 Service Fair will be held on Wednesday, September 27th on Alumni Lawn from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. A list of participating community members will be available on the Anchor Link event soon.

Mlk Jr. Joint Day of Service

The annual MLK Joint Day of Service brings together hundreds of student volunteers from Nashville-area colleges and universities to continue the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through community service. This year’s event will be on Saturday, Jan. 14, from 11:00am to 4:00pm in the Cal Turner Family Center at Meharry Medical College. After the opening program, volunteers will go to various service sites. Transportation to and from campus, as well as lunch, will be provided.

To register as a volunteer, sign up here.

Community Partners

The Office of Student Organizations, Leadership, and Service is thankful to all of our current community partners and the opportunities they provide Vanderbilt students. We are connected to over 50+ community partners in the Metro Nashville area! We have an ever growing list of partners – this “living” document has our most up-to-date partnerships!

If you plan to reach out to any of the above community partners or create a new relationship, utilize this email template to get started! 

Donation Collections

As of September 20, 2021, Student Organizations may resume collection boxes in certain spaces on campus. Student organizations must get approval from OHARE prior to conducting their donation drives. Requests to conduct donation drives should be made to Toi Batson. The policy on donation drives is available on the OHARE housing facilities web page .

Service-Learning 101

The Office of Student Organizations, Leadership, and Service is excited to offer Service-Learning 101 during the Fall 2023 semester.  This training offers insight into how students can engage in meaningful service in Nashville and beyond. SL 101 dives into the differences between community service, service-learning, internships, and works through the Service-Learning Process. This training can also be tailored to your organization or department to adhere to specific learning outcomes. For more information or to schedule a session, please email caroline.e.wilson@vanderbilt.edu.

Lyft Ridehail Program for Service Organizations

As of the Fall 2021 semester, the former OACS Lyft Program was transferred to the Office of Student Organizations, Leadership, and Service. This program now facilitates the creation of codes for organizations for mission-related travel around Nashville. If you are requesting codes for your organization, the funds will come out of your organization’s account. You may request codes for an entire semester or academic year if you have repeating service trips or serve regularly with a community partner.

To request codes, please email caroline.e.wilson@vanderbilt.edu with the following information:

    • Confirmation each member using the rides have completed this waiver
    • Proof of Coach approval for the purchase
    • Organization task number
    • The total amount of money you’ve allotted for rides
    • Information to create your codes

Please allow two weeks for processing from the time you submit your interest form to when your travel is scheduled. At the moment, this opportunity is only available for service organizations that are advised by SOLS.

If you have any questions about the process, please email sols@vanderbilt.edu.