SPARC Day Volunteers 2023!

Rollins friends!

This year Rollins celebrates our 18th anniversary of SPARC Day of Community (Service, Passion, Action, Rollins College), which will be held on Saturday, August 19th. We invite you to be involved with the Class of 2027! Deeply embedded in the mission of Rollins College (to educate for global citizenship and responsible leadership), SPARC was created in 2006 to introduce our newest Rollins students to the Central Florida community in a day of learning, community service, and activism.

SPARC Day is an incredible component of Orientation; one which allows RCC classes to build thoughtful relationships among students. The day also serves to create a sense of belonging both on and off-campus as well as to initiate that “spark” to find their passions and purpose. We are excited to return to the traditional model of SPARC in which RCC classes are purposefully placed with community partners based on their 1st year Rollins College Conference Course and its curricular content, learning outcomes, and goals. The day will continue to focus on service, community building, and the educational foundation of the liberal arts ethos. This "sparks" community partner/faculty relationships, shared goals, and a heightened curiosity, both intellectually and action-driven in continued engagement. The day will offer each incoming student the opportunity to engage off-campus with one of 25 different local non-profit organizations. As members of the Rollins Community, we hope that you might be able to serve as a volunteer for SPARC Day! This is a huge lift for our team, and cannot be done without your help

Please note: All first-year students and peer mentors will already be participating in SPARC Day. All other members of the campus are welcome to volunteer on SPARC Day, but Rollins cannot accommodate anyone moving in prior to the scheduled move-in dates/time. Please reach out with any questions!

Below are the time slots when volunteers are needed:

6:30 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. - Set-up Team: set-up, snack allocation, bus coordination, and student/RCC Class placement, create signage, thank you cards. **The morning shift is great for little helpers!**

8:00 a.m. - 1:45: p.m. - On-Site Volunteers: A select number of students (sophomore and above), faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of Rollins are invited to participate and celebrate 18 years of SPARC by engaging in a day of service! All supplemental volunteers will be serving at a variety of different service sites, please note we may not be able to accommodate specific requests. Due to the needs of the community partner, sign-up is limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis until all available space is filled, so sign up today! It’s a great opportunity to be a part of serving the greater Central Florida Community.

12:20 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. – Welcome Back Crew: Welcome all the RCC courses and students back to campus and support the reorganization of supplies and materials. Support clean-up, supply collection, sign-making, chalking campus, directing returning RCC courses. This role is one of the most important of the day! The more, the merrier! **Volunteers for the clean-up crew will be outside for the majority of this shift. We will have water and snacks!**

If you have any questions, please send Victoria Teske an e-mail at VTeske@rollins.edu (or call at 407-691-1244). All volunteers must register via: SPARC Day of Community 2023. Please sign up to volunteer by Sunday, August 6th! We deeply appreciate your ongoing commitment to leadership and community engagement.

Lastly, please note that all volunteers will be asked to sign-up for a training prior to SPARC Day. Volunteers can pick between Thursday, 8/10 (2-3pm), Thursday, 8/17 (4-5pm), or Friday, 8/18 (12-1) pm. Trainings will be held remotely. Please mark your calendars now and keep an eye out for a follow-up email.

We will coordinate a follow-up e-mail to discuss the logistics of the day, learning goals/outcomes, and other important material as the date approaches!

In Service,

Center for Leadership and Community Engagement