Joseph McKeen
Center for the Common Good

Student service organizations work closely with local agencies, placing Bowdoin students in volunteer positions that meet community needs. Contact leaders for more information about how to get involved!

Bear Buddies

A program for children with physical and mental disabilities. Meets weekly for afternoon activities. For more information, contact Eric Ardolino '10, Lucy Evans '12, or Ellen Rogoz '12.

Bears and Cubs

Matches Bowdoin students with children waiting for a Big Brother or Big Sister. Meets every other Sunday in the gym for afternoon activities. For more information, contact Thompson Ogilvie '10 or Samantha Schwager '10.

Blogging Buddies

Works with local middle school students to develop art and writing skills through an interactive online blog. For more information, contact Helen Pu '10 or Katy Shaw '11.

Book Buddies

Volunteers work one-on-one as tutors and mentors with ESL students at Coffin Elementary. For more information, contact Martha Clarke '11, Margie Cooper '10, or Charlotte Williams '10.

Bowdoin Central Mentoring

Members mentor students at Bowdoin Central Elementary School. For more information contact Ross Cowman '10 or Angela Viani '11.

Bowdoin Music in the Community (BMC)

Student musicians share thier talents with schools, hospitals, and senior housing facilities throughout the community .  For more information, contact KC Maloney '10.

Brunswick Teen Center

Members volunteer at the Brunswick Teen Center to help provide a safe, social, and educational atmosphere for local teens. For more information, contact Kat Flaherty '11.

Cash Coalition

Volunteers receive training in tax preparation and financial resources and provide assistance to low and middle income individuals during tax season. For more information, contact Charlie Berdahl '11, Kenta Matsumoto, or Elaine Tsai.

College Guild

Members provide educational support for prisoners through the U.S. Postal system. For more information, contact Morgan Taggart-Hampton '11.

College Students for College

Provides support to high school students navigating the process of postsecondary planning. For more information, contact Mark Bellis '10 or Christina Argueta '11.

Colleges Against Cancer

Promotes cancer awareness and advocacy on campus and raises funds for the American Cancer Society through the Making Strides walk and the Relay for Life. For more information, contact Randy De Feo '11 or Phil Tonucci '10.

The Community S.P.O.T

The Service Project Organizing Team (S.P.O.T.) coordinates a wide variety of service projects on campus and in the community. For more information, contact Benny Chen '11 or Amanda Nguyen '11.

Falcon Friends

Members mentor students at Bowdoinham Elementary School. For more information, contact Colman Hatton '10 or Mika Matsuuchi '11, or Dana Riker '10.

Food Forward

Volunteers deliver unused food from the Dining Service to Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program and organize Taste for Change dinners to benefit non-profit organizations. For more information contact Robby Bitting '11 or Drew Trafton '10.

For the Troops

Volunteers fundraise to send small care packages to boost morale and support American troops stationed in Iraq. For more information contact Devlin Cole '11 or Alicia Sorensen-Biggs '11.

Habitat for Humanity

A campus extension of the local chapter, this group organizes campus-wide poverty awareness events, fundraisers, and "build" days. For more information, contact Kate Leifheit '12 or Will Pugh '12.

Harpswell Island Mentoring

Members mentor students at Harpswell Islands Elementary School through the arts. For more information contact Chanwoong Baek '12 Larissa Gaias '11 or Jamilah Gregory '11, or Coral Sandler '12.

Midcoast Hospital Volunteer Program

Members serve in the local hospital by visiting patients and helping hospital staff. For more information, contact Eugene Sun '10 or Florence Sun '11.

Mt. Ararat Middle School Mentoring

Students work one-on-one as mentors to middle school students. For more information contact Henry Andrews '10, Sarah Marston '10 or Steven Thomas.

Mt. Ararat High School Mentoring

Members mentor students at Mt. Ararat High School. For more information contact Melissa Anson '11 or Rohit Sangal '11.

Portland Housing Authority Tutoring

Volunteers provide tutoring after school M-Th for mainly immigrant and refugee children in grades 7-12 at the Portland Housing Authority education center. For more information, contact Matthew Gannon '11 or Rosie Laflam '11.

Red Cross Blood Drives

Students organize and recruit donors for four campus-wide blood drives per year. For more information, contact Zoe Anaman '10 or Claire Williams '10.

SmART

Volunteers mentor students at West Harpswell Elementary School through the arts. For more information contact Alexandra Rupp '12 or Isaac Ardis '11.

Special Olympics

Students organize and recruit volunteers for the Special Olympics swim and track meet in the spring. For more information, contact Alicia Sorensen-Biggs '11 or Claire Williams '10.

Tedford Housing

Volunteers serve the evening meal seven nights a week at a local homeless shelter. For more information, contact Kat Flaherty '11.

Volunteer Lawyers Project

Members work with Pine Tree Legal Aid to provide legal options to callers below the poverty line. For more information, contact Elizabeth Snyder '11.

Women and Youth Supporting Each Other

Students serve as mentors in a program designed to strenghten the lives and communities of young women. For more information, contact Christine Buckland '12, Emma Cape '10, Jenny Crouch  '10, or Alexa Garcia '11.

Bowdoin Volunteer Corps

The Bowdoin Volunteer Corps serves as an umbrella organization for student-run community service programs. Consisting of the leaders of each volunteer organization, the corps serves as a link between student volunteers and community agencies and provides funding for student-led community service activities. Advised by the McKeen Center for the Common Good, members of the corps take part in a leadership retreat at the beginning of the year to explore ways to more effectively run volunteer programs, manage student volunteers, and meet community needs. The president of the corps and McKeen Center staff also meet throughout the year with organization leaders to provide support in their work.

To learn more about the Bowdoin Volunteer Corps contact the president:

• Jamie Nadeau '10 jnadeau@bowdoin.edu