Community service opportunities for the Pitt community

For Juliana Agnolet, a senior psychology and political science major, joining a service organization when she started at Pitt was a way for her to immediately engage in the community around her. 

“Service has always been super important to me, and I knew that when I came to Pitt that I wanted to stay true to that, and I wanted to find other girls who felt the same way,” Agnolet said. 

Agnolet is the social programs coordinator of Gamma Sigma Sigma, a national service sorority and one of the many organizations on campus that connect students to different community service opportunities in the Pittsburgh area. 

While many organizations focus on specific types of service or community outreach, Agnolet said Gamma Sigma Sigma is unique because it doesn’t have one set cause to focus on. 

“What we do specifically is work with existing service events and organizations not just at Pitt, but in Pittsburgh as a whole to help out in all sorts of ways,” Agnolet said. “Essentially, what we do is connect our members to different service opportunities, as well as do some fundraising/collections of our own.” 

Gal Yovel, a junior neuroscience major, is the president of Food Recovery Heroes, one of the many cause-specific service organizations on campus. 

“Food Recovery Heroes recovers leftover food to reduce food waste and fight food insecurity,” Yovel said. “We recover food from campus dining halls, bagel and coffee shops and local restaurants. We then wrap the food and bring it to local pantries such as the Pitt Pantry to help students at Pitt, Jubilee Soup kitchen, Wilkinsburg Ministry and family houses.” 

Many service organizations like Food Recovery Heroes offer flexible hours and opportunities to accommodate for the busy and often-changing schedules that college students are accustomed to. 

“It’s really easy to join a recovery because we send out a sign-up genius every week and you can select the time that works best for you,” Yovel said. “A recovery is only around half an hour, so it’s not a big commitment to help make an impact, and you can sign up for any week and time that works best.”

Elise Rinke, a junior environmental science and biology major, is the Student Garden Manager for Plant2Plate, said she gravitated towards the organization because of the opportunity it presents her to work in green spaces within an urban environment.

“Our mission is to battle food insecurity by providing the Pitt and Oakland community with access to fresh, local produce and education about sustainable garden practices,” Rinke said.

Plant2Plate is a community garden located primarily in South Oakland, and it offers flexible times and opportunities for students to participate in gardening at the main site on Oakland Avenue.

“We have group work shifts every Sunday where any members who can make it come help out at the garden,” Rinke said. “Volunteers also come throughout the week to water the garden and help with other tasks.”

Other organizations like Planned Parenthood Generation Action and Ice Cream Sundays also offer a wide range of opportunities to meet every interest, and they are just two of many more service organizations that welcome new members.

PittServes, the University’s “initiative that supports community engagement opportunities working with communities and students,” is a hub of service opportunities and information for students unsure of the type of volunteering they’d like to participate in.

For students interested in meeting volunteers in person to get a better understanding of the work individual organizations do, the Student Activities Fair takes place during Welcome Week at the end of August. Most organizations on campus attend to meet new students and talk about their services.