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Community Outreach

SVSU students, faculty, and staff participate in key projects that improve the community and the quality of life for its residents.

Alternative Breaks

The SVSU Alternative Break program offers opportunities for students to learn about an important social issue and then travel to another state or country, to provide service relating to that particular issue. SVSU Alternative Breaks is a student-run, student-led program provided by SVSU Student Life Center. As a drug and alcohol-free program, it offers college students an "alternative" to the traditional university break.

For more information please visit

https://www.svsu.edu/officeofstudentlife/serve/ 

https://www.facebook.com/svsualternativebreaks

Community Youth Days

Community Youth Days are programs sponsored by Jolt Federal Credit Union and the Saginaw Valley State University Department of Athletics.  The intent of the program is to bring the families with young children in the Great Lakes Bay Region to the campus of SVSU to engage in the Cardinal Athletics experience. 

Visit this link for online registration and to view the current calendar of events! 

https://www.svsucardinals.com/Community/cyd_22_23

 

OLLI Extends Community Outreach

The SVSU Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) is a member-based organization that offers non-credit educational programs & travel opportunities for the over-50 population.  OLLI is one of six entities under SVSU’s Center for Business and Economic Development. This Center coordinates community engagement activities that improve the region’s economy by providing technical support for local businesses, personal/professional development opportunities, programs/services for the manufacturing sector, and commercialization of ideas/inventions. Other entities include: Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center; Continuing Education Office; Osher Lifelong Learning Institute; Career Services; Independent Testing Laboratory; and Saginaw Valley Research and Development Corporation.

Facts

SVSU was the first university in Michigan to receive the designation as a Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) from the Bernard Osher Foundation in 2005.

Youth Leadership Training

SVSU’s Great Lakes Regional Youth Leadership Institute is an academic year-long community outreach program that provides leadership training for high school students from diverse racial, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds and SVSU student mentors so they acquire the skills necessary to lead community improvement projects.  It is funded by several regional partners, including United Way and Salvation Army. 

Fact

In 2013, SVSU received the Higher Education in Diversity award from “INSIGHT Into Diversity” for “exemplary diversity and inclusion initiatives” to groups based on gender, race, ethnicity, veteran status, sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.  Of noteworthy citation was the award’s acknowledgment of SVSU’s Inclusion Advocate Program (IAP), the formal diversity training SVSU offers faculty and staff who are part of search-hiring committees. The purpose of the IAP is to advance the University’s strategic goal of “promoting a diverse faculty and staff.”