WGU SHRM VIRTUAL STUDENT CHAPTER Community Service Day 2021

Welcome to the second annual Community Service Day, hosted by our WGU SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) Virtual Student Chapter and held on Saturday, March 27, 2021! While our Community Service Day events look a little different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are excited to bring options for virtual participation to support five very special organizations selected by chapter faculty advisors with input from student chapter members, faculty, staff, and various WGU leadership. We also encourage you to seek out ways to volunteer locally, potentially in person or virtually, if you feel safe and comfortable doing so.

Organization Overview: "Warrior Rising is a family of supporters helping veteran entrepreneurs, which we call vetrepreneurs, to start or accelerate their businesses. Founded in Utah in 2015 by former military veterans and strong supporters of the military, we seek to make a difference for those veterans who want to continue to serve, lead, profit from their own achievement, and be their own boss.

"Since inception, the organization has grown from a regional organization to a national one, helping veterans from every state in the union, being their business battle buddy, and fostering a sense of belonging as members of the Warrior Rising tribe."

How to Get Involved for Community Service Day: On Saturday, March 27, 2021, at 1 pm, EST, you can join a live event with representatives from Warrior Rising as they host a panel discussion on the background of Warrior Rising, the work they are doing, and important topics for success in business gleaned from the military such as resilience.

Organization Overview: "Dog Is My CoPilot is a 501(c)3 that transports at-risk animals from overcrowded shelters to adoption centers in other geographic regions where loving families are waiting. Peter E. Rork, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and lifelong pilot, co-founded the organization in 2012 with the goal of saving as many animal lives as possible. DIMC works collaboratively with city shelters, local animal welfare organizations and individuals in 15 Western states to coordinate transports. It provides air services at no cost to the shelters and adoption centers with whom the organization partners.  Since its inception, DIMC has helped save the lives of over 16,000 dogs and cats with its transport flights." 

How to Get Involved for Community Service Day: Dog Is My CoPilot runs off of donations, and we are hoping to raise funds for them during virtual Community Service Day 2021! Any amount is helpful, and they’ve set up a link just for WGU donations! You can share the donation link and the mission of DIMC with your own network of family, friends, colleagues, etc., if you want to do so, in addition to any donation you may feel comfortable making as well. In Dr. Rork’s thank you video to WGU he challenges us to raise enough for him to put our name on one of the transport planes. What do you think—can we rise to the challenge? 

Organization Overview: Read Across America is part of the National Education Association, which promotes literacy year-round to help motivate children to read and brings the joy of reading to students of all ages to make children feel valued and welcome.

How to Get Involved for Community Service Day: This year we are mindful of the pandemic and its challenges, so we will be focused on virtual opportunities to volunteer our time. We are focused on Book Talks and Read Aloud—which are ways to get kids involved with reading.

• Book Talk: A Book Talk is just a short presentation about an awesome book to get readers excited and interested in it. You can record yourself, give a live Book Talk, or ask your school or public librarian to offer virtual Book Talks. Book Talks work best when they can be conversational, with questions asked and answered. Slides can also be developed and used to add visual interest and help provide structure. 
• Read Aloud: A Read Aloud with students looks a little different in an online classroom, but it is still an excellent way to connect with and engage students. You can read to kids “live” or create a video of you reading for them to watch. Try to take advantage of what your technology offers. For example, with Zoom you can screen share an eBook so students can see the pictures and words, but they can still see you reading in a thumbnail video. Be sure to record yourself reading “live” in case there are students who are unable to attend meetups. Recorded or live, your Read Aloud can be lively with fun backdrops, props, or costumes. You can even have a pet join your sessions!

Please visit Read Across America for details on how you can spend your Community Service Day on March 27, 2021.

Organization Overviews: Food insecurity and hunger are potentially impacting more than 50 million Americans, according to feedingamerica.org. Particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more Americans are wondering where their next meal may come from. Local and national food bank programs help serve individuals and families in need and rely on donations and support from their communities across the country to continue to help those in need. While these particular locations were selected by the project sponsors, you can also look up your local food bank and donate to their mission as well! 

How to Get Involved for Community Service Day: Specific fundraiser links for our WGU SHRM Virtual Student Chapter–hosted Community Service Day are linked from the buttons below. You can donate directly through the links to help us meet our fundraising goals. You can also donate directly to a local food bank or locate a link for online donations for other food banks at the Feeding America website. For more information about our project sponsors, check out their websites: