Students in Hillsborough County need service hours for many reasons including graduation requirements, college applications and scholarships. Volunteers are also the life blood of many local non-profits. It is for this reason that The Community Roundtable will host a Community Service Forum on Thursday, September 27 from 6 to 8 p.m.
The forum will be held at Brandon High School located at 1101 Victoria St. in Brandon. The event is free for all who wish to attend and will be held on the same evening as College Night.
Janine Nickerson, the President of The Community Roundtable said, “The Community Roundtable created this event in November of 2013 to answer the volunteer needs of both students and non-profits. As an all-volunteer organization, The Community Roundtable wants to encourage our youth to become life-long volunteers. By attending this semi-annual event, they are introduced to a variety of local non-profits. This way, they can find their passion in areas specializing in environmental, soup kitchens, animal rescue and more.”
Nickerson added, “Adults interested in volunteer openings may want to drop by to become familiar with the different Brandon area non-profits.”
Hillsborough County Public Schools support The Community Roundtable’s Community Service Forum. A school guidance counselor will be on site to answer specific questions regarding service hours paperwork and the Bright Future Scholarship program. Service hours are approved for volunteering with the attending non-profits which are all designated as 501(c)(3).
Many local non-profits have agreed to participate including Center Place, We Rock the Spectrum, Life’s Treasures Thrift Store, F.R.I.E.N.D.S., The Community Pet Project, Impact and more. According to Nickerson, “We typically have two to three dozen non-profits attending.”
Another Community Service Forum will take place in the spring. Nickerson explained, “As students transition from middle school (eighth grade) to high school (ninth grade), they can begin obtaining service hours over the summer.”
The Community Roundtable is an all-volunteer organization that has been serving the Greater Brandon area for over 60 years.
The Roundtable meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Center Place in Brandon. Please visit www.thecommunityroundtable.org.
