National Volunteer Week at Kean University will take place from April 15 to 21. This week will consist of a variety of different volunteer opportunities including a blood drive, the ReInvent, ReUse, ReCycle Art Show, and Kean Day of Service, all hosted by the Center for Leadership and Service (CLS). 

In a combined celebration with Volunteer Week and Earth day, the CLS will be hosting a Recyclable Art Show Tuesday, April 17 from 1 to 4:30 p.m. The ReInvent, ReUse, ReCycle Art Show will help spread awareness of environmental sustainability. The show will consist of student-made artwork created  from recycled materials. The art pieces with the strongest meaning and with the most votes will be displayed as center pieces at the "Uniting Jersey for the Global Goals" Sustainability Symposium hosted by the Kean University Earth Science Club. All students are welcome to submit a piece of art for review. The goal of the artwork should be to display the many ways our environment is impacted by human activity on a daily basis.

Also Tuesday, April 17, there will be a blood drive from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. As with any blood drive, donors are asked to eat a full meal prior to the donation and bring ID. Appointments can be made at tinyurl.com/KeanBloodDrives or call (800) 933-2566. Appointments are not mandatory and walk-ins are welcome. 

As a part of the Week of Service, Saturday, April 21 will be Kean's Day of Service. There will be a collection of events on this day that will benefit others and are run by a goal to serve the local community. Students can register for all of the events on Cougar Link.

Students will have the opportunity to experience working with Jumpstart as a part of the Jumpstart For a Day (JFAD) event. The annual JFAD will ask volunteers to help at activity tables and stations that are made to assist young children in expanding their skills for school success. Pre-registration is required for this event as spaces are limited and are offered at a first come, first serve basis. Register via Cougar Link. Transportation will be provided for approved volunteers.

Student volunteers can volunteer for the Cougars That Care: Breakfast with a Senior event. Co-hosted by the Physical Therapy Club, this event gives students the chance to visit a local nursing home, provide companionship and warm faces to seniors, and participate in fun activities with them. To register for this event, visit the Cougar Link event page.

Another service event to be included on Kean Day of Service, April 21, is the Atria Senior Living volunteer trip. The Atria Senior Living community encourages volunteers to help maintain a welcoming environment. Volunteers will be with residents of the facility doing arts and crafts, manicures and other recreational activities. Kean volunteers will be visiting the Atria Living Center in Cranford, which has won one of 2018's Top-Rated Senior Care Providers. Those who participate will be working with some of the best assisted care providers. 

Volunteers for the Kean Day of Service are welcome to participate in the Cougars that Care: Community Food Bank. They will be helping to provide support for the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Student volunteers will be sorting food donations, creating boxed meals, building donation boxes, sorting frozen food and more.

The Adopt-a-Park event is a park clean-up scheduled for April 21. The volunteers will be working with the Union County Parks Environmental Specialists to clean local parks. Some of the responsibilities include removing litter from parks, clearing out park streams and fixing fenced areas in park communities. This event is to take place outside and students should expect to get dirty and not wear clothes they don't want to get ruined. The Cougars that Care: Adopt-a-Park is an event where registration is required and volunteer spots are given on a first come, first serve basis. To register, visit the Cougar Link event page.

The last event as part of the Center for Leadership and Service Kean Day of Service will be the Cougars that Care: Adopt-A-Highway, which is co-hosted by the Lambda Theta Phi fraternity. Lambda Theta Phi is the first and largest Latin fraternity in the nation. Along with the volunteers through the CLS, members of Lambda Theta Phi will be cleaning up litter and debris from the section of Morris Avenue that has been adopted by the fraternity. This event will also take place outside, and volunteers should dress accordingly. This event also requires registration via Cougar Link.

All of these events are hosted by the Center for Leadership and Service. For more information, contact the CLS department located in the Miron Student Center, Room 219, by calling (908) 737-5170 or email serve@kean.edu.